he advent of professional gaming has been a somewhat rocky process. There are those who strongly encourage pro gaming and there are those who think that video games and sports are two separate areas. There is debate and there is discussion but in my opinion the discussion on this matter is missing one important item. That is the ever-increasing rise in the egotistical attitude of those who consider themselves to be professional gamers.
In some respects it is understandable as to why this would occur. If someone is very good at a particular task then there is a good chance that they're going to brag about it. Some take it to extremes and become what are generally known as bad winners. Given the anonymity that games give these days this likelihood increases and as a result there is no social conformity rules in place that would dampen the "celebrations" of these bad winners.
This holier-than-thou attitude has lead to the same practice being performed by clans, and by extension professional gaming groups such as the MLG. The result of this is having these "professional clans" acting in a way that is not conducive towards improving gaming as an interest or increasing the communities of the games that they chose to play. Egotistical clans will constantly lay claim that those who don't play by professional rules are not playing properly, or that if you aren't playing professionally then you shouldn't be playing at all. Then we have the near constant trash-talking. Sure, there's a time and a place for trash talking, but when a clan stacks a game lobby in their favor against a group of random people it should be an embarrassment for that clan to claim that they are superior — just because they beat a group that had never worked as a group before.
The only time and place where this kind of behavior can even remotely be seen as being acceptable is during times of equal competition. So when it's clan versus clan or during established professional gaming events. You don't see pro athletes insulting people who are knew to their sports. If they are insulting other players then it's when they are on the field, when they are on equal ground.
If people want to keep on with the belief that gaming is a sport then they need to start acting like it is one. Otherwise the general public will continue not taking them seriously, while they continue to act like children who don't know how to win gracefully.
