Did April Fools come early because the fact that ESports are considered part of the AIA but ice hockey is not is truly a joke. 

The AIA is for high school clubs, something that ice hockey is sadly not a part of. But why? After all, there are JV and D3 hockey teams that use Ridge’s name and logo. It doesn’t really make sense that they wouldn’t be considered club teams at the school. Besides, if Ridge hockey was actually a part of Ridge, their games could be advertised on the school announcements and could generate bigger audiences–and revenue–than they currently do.  

Furthermore, the Mountain Ridge teams are under AHSHA, not the AIA. Though high school hockey doesn’t need to move from AHSHA to the AIA, it’s just the principle of it, you know? Like, why are video games considered a sport when hockey has had to fight for so long to even be recognized by the general public, especially in the desert? 

When people talk about sports, hockey has been left out of the conversation for far too long. Therefore, it’s okay to be reasonably angry, I think, for the AIA to consider ESports of all things more athletic than ice hockey. I mean, is it just me, or does it take more skill to perfect skating on an ice sheet with thin steel blades than pressing a few buttons? 

Sure, I’m simplifying ESports by a lot, but isn’t the AIA doing worse by not considering hockey a real sport? 

Now don’t get me wrong, I like video games; they’re a lot of fun and the animation is a great show of artistic skill. There’s a lot to love and appreciate about video games, but I draw the line at them being considered a sport. 

Looking at the situation, it’s just funny to me. Imagine having to pay for a ticket to go see a few students play pound at controls while yelling at avatars on a screen. Imagine seeing advertisements for their tournaments on the school newspaper or the daily announcements. Imagine the ESports teams getting recognized for winning games while only a select few people know that there’s even a hockey team using Ridge’s name. 

The amount of visceral hate I have for this idea grows by the hour, and I’m not even sure who to direct my ire at. How did that meeting even go? Who piped up with, “I have this great idea: what if we consider–now hear me out–video games as real sports. Better yet, how about we ignore a real, physical sport in favor of this fake sport?” 

In the end, I suppose it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t affect me all that much; rather, it’s just a slap in the face to everything that athleticism is. Thus, when the school eventually announces the first upcoming video game tournament, don’t hesitate to buy tickets to something that will probably make you feel as if you’ve wasted your time when you could be doing literally anything else.