As I was leaving the CGS World Finals last night, I passed two young women (both probably about twenty years old) that attended the event as part of the audience. I overheard part of their conversation, which went like this:

Girl 1: "Man, they really think they big stars or sumthin'"
Girl 2: "[laugher] Yea, let 'em have their fun now, it ain't gonna last."
[Both laughing]

It made me wonder if we even watched the same event. Yes, there are production aspects during the filming that make it seem like eSports is just trying to build itself up and make itself seem more popular than it is. But I was surprised that they didn't recognize the passion inside all the competitors. They care about become stars, but they care more about beating the snot out of the team sitting directly across from them.

If stardom comes as a part of that, the more, the merrier. Over the years, though, after attending event after event, with a majority of the teams paying out of their own pocket, I think it's safe to say that money isn't everything, and that goes from a player like fRoD all the way to people that never had a chance to be a has-been, like, say, myself.

Those feelings are transparent when you watch them play. Take away the cameras, the lights, and even the money, and you'd still have people jumping out of their chairs for every goal.

It's part of what makes eSports great, in the first place.