Faker is a noob

I suppose you have a point. Perhaps in the future, I'll preface such comments with "In my opinion..." Sorry about the mixup.

Well it's become a matter of semantics, but I suppose I'll note why I believe as I do about it. As Google says, it's any activity that involves PHYSICAL exertion and skill. League takes reflexes, sure, but... Reflexes and dexterity are required for card tricks and darts, but neither of those are considered sports. They're leisure activities (which is what I consider League and every other video game to be, actually!). Mental exertion doesn't exactly count, because I can't think of a single sport where only one's mind is exerted. I mean there's a decent following for watching professional go players in Japan, but no one considers it a sport, least of all the players themselves!

RE: Athlete's definition, I think you've misread it a bit. You say being proficient in sports doesn't automatically make you an athlete, but it kinda does. The definition of athlete is "a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise". Sports is something right there in the definition. This means that if you play sports, you're automatically an athlete. If you think of every sport in the world, and consider which of them require proficiency in forms of physical exercise, I bet you'll see League is about the only one that doesn't.

Football players are athletes. Even punters need to be flexible and dexterous enough to kick the ball exactly where they want it to go.

Basketball players are athletes. They require physical stamina and jumping ability even before all basketball-specific skills are accounted for.

Baseball players are athletes. They have to run bases, run down fly balls, dive for line drives, and so on.

Soccer/European football players are athletes. They're running CONSTANTLY, and they require immense dexterity of leg and foot to dribble and shoot.

Hockey players are athletes. They need to be able to skate and high speeds and take hits in stride, both of which require tremendous physical strength. (Which is why their shifts are mere minutes long!)

Boxers and martial artists are athletes. The entire concept of martial arts revolves around physical exertion.

Volleyball players need to jump, dive and occasionally run.

Even in curling, you have to move quickly and carefully alongside the stones as you're sweeping.

Golf is the one instance in which we have a sport that requires minimal if any physical exertion, but I personally don't refer to it as a sport, either. I feel it, like League, is just something you do for fun. (Or to... infuriate yourself, based on how a lot of people play.) The masses disagree, and many disagree with me about League. But then we come back to the original comment:

"Faker isn't an athlete. Thus, League isn't a sport." This is my opinion. I may even be wrong. But it's how I feel. :) And the only reason I see the need to bring it up is because I feel strongly about video games turning into professional sports. In an era when a lot of fun games force you to play with other people, it's dangerous to the fun factor to have so many taking it so seriously as many LCS fans do. It's hard to enjoy myself playing League these days because so many people are obsessed with being the next Doublelift that they don't allow their teammates to relax or experiment without ripping them a new one and giving up on the game.

It doesn't make them particularly EXCEPTIONAL athletes, but it does in fact make them athletes by technicality. I mean if a kid's not an athlete as compared to other kids their age, they won't stick with the sport very long and they'll eventually drop off. But for a League player, athletic ability has nothing to do with going pro.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying "athletes good, nerds bad" here. The point I was trying to make by saying that Faker isn't an athlete was that League isn't a sport. He's not an athlete BECAUSE League isn't a sport. I wasn't saying that makes him any less of a human being. There are plenty of athletes that contribute nothing to society and are insufferable human beings.

The only point I mean to make is that being a professional League player doesn't make you a professional athlete. "Faker is not playing a pro sport" would be a way to put it.