Congratulations to the Newton High School Tiger Nation eSports team for their third-place finish last week at the 2024 Mississippi Fall State Championships. For a team that’s still in its first full year of fielding a team in the sport, placing third best in the state is quite the accomplishment.
When I first heard of eSports and how colleges and high schools were taking part in the sport, my first reaction was similar to several other things that have been introduced into life well after my childhood, such as playgrounds at McDonalds, bounce houses, and iPhones: “Where was this when I was a kid,”.
Back in the day, I’m sure many of you gathered at a friend’s home, sometimes with a small crew, and took turns playing the latest and greatest Nintendo or PlayStation game. And buddy, it was serious business!
In the late 80’s, a group of us would gather at a buddy’s home during Christmas break for a riveting Tecmo Bowl football tournament. Tecmo Bowl was one the best games ever made for the Nintendo Gaming System. The game was made up of 12 of the more popular NFL teams and included the actual stars of each team, which was amazing because prior football games only had generic players.
Strategically, these tournaments were played during the day as parents were away at work, because the trash talk could get so lethal, it would make sailors blush and mama’s cry.
And there was nothing like the fighting and standoffs that occurred when someone chose the Oakland Raiders as their team. Anyone who played Tecmo Bowl knew if you played with the Raiders, you would have Bo Jackson as the running back. And Bo Jackson in that game was ridiculously good. It was downright scandalous to use him because 90% of the time, you couldn’t tackle or catch him. Friendships ended over the use of Bo Jackson.
Fortunately, part of the NHS eSports criteria is teaching students to communicate positively with others during the gameplay. Something we could have used all those years ago.
When talking to NHS senior Jamari McDonald and Coach Shella Williams about gameplay in eSports, they confirmed with me that part of the game is definitely finding the different quirks of characters in games and using them to your advantage. McDonald mentioned that other teams in the Super Smash Bros. Tournament were using characters with greater skills and powers that are paid for, which seems a little unfair, to me, for a tournament where teams should be on an even playing field.
Nevertheless, congratulations, Newton High School, for your eSports success and for introducing another great and positive activity for students be a part of.
