Every day, a number of Sinclair Community College students gather in Building 8 to play video games, mainly Super Smash Bros. Brawl and more recently, Street Fighter 4.
While these students socialize and compete, there are other competitors walking around the Sinclair campus. Some of them are a part of the Men’s Baseball team.
As David Murat, a 20-year-old English major, battles with his peers in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Taylor Messinger, a catcher for the Pride, is practicing on his hitting, throwing, and agility.
They share a common goal in improving themselves in their respective fields.
The “Gamers”
“[I’ve been playing video games since] the first Donkey Kong came out,” Murat said. Besides his love of “gaming” Murat said he also plays bass and writes stories that he hopes to get published one day. Murat plays Super Smash Bros. Brawl with a host of different people, some of whom he doesn’t know.
“I’ve actually made a lot more friends,” said Murat, about the time he spends in Building 8. His friend and rival Ethan Vawter, an architecture major, has been playing in Building 8 since he started at Sinclair in the fall. Vawter is considered the best player at Super Smash Bros. Brawl in Building 8, according to Murat. By his own account, Vawter said video games, specifically Super Metroid, helped him learn as a young kid.
“Video games taught me how to read,” said Vawter, who has been playing video games since the tender age of 4. “It’s good to get your brain working.”
Quentin Ross, a Visual Communications major, said he remembers playing video games since he was 2. Ross considers himself a pro-gamer and has participated in tournaments in Indiana, Columbus, and Cincinnati. Ross, who is a big fan of fighting games, plays Street Fighter 4 in Building 8. Ross said he and his friends usually play a few hours a day. Instead of using the standard controller for the Playstation 3,the game system they play Street Fighter 4 on, he uses a controller that largely resembles those used to play games at the arcade. Ross considers “gaming” as his sport.
“It’s like our pro basketball,” Ross said.
The “Jocks”
Steve Dintaman, who is in his second year of coaching Sinclair’s Baseball team, is a fan of video games.
“Love ‘em,” Dintaman said. “We probably play them too much.”
He recently purchased the Nintendo Wii and though he respects the gamers and their craft, he doesn’t consider “gaming” to be a sport.
“I would never consider them athletes,” Dintaman said. Messinger, a Liberal Arts major, has been playing baseball for 15 years. He said gamers put in the same kind of work ethic as an athlete.
“[Gamers] put in the same dedication,” he said.
Hard work aside, Messinger said that being a gamer isn’t similar to playing baseball.
“It takes more skill to be a baseball player,” Messinger said. He said a normal day for him during baseball season begins at 6 a.m. Throughout the day he spends his time weight lifting, going to class, studying and practicing.
The lines blur
Sean Ashley, who’s a Sinclair grad currently at Wright State University, plays Super Smash Bros. Brawl in Building 8 when he’s able to. Ashley played wide receiver and safety for West Carrollton’s football squad and considers gaming to provide a similar amount of intensity.
“It gets serious,” Ashley said.