It's clear that competitive gaming is on the rise, but will eSports ever be seen by the mainstream sports community as a legitimate sport? That's exactly what HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel debated recently, with panelists largely dismissing cyber-athletes and their profession.

After acknowledging she had no idea that eSports even existed, sportscaster and former professional tennis player Mary Carillo said, "It's still not a sport. It's a game."

Panelists including Fox News correspondent Bernard Goldberg and Frank Deford cracked jokes about Star Trek conventions and labeled the millions of people who watch eSports events as "crazy."

Soledad O'Brien defended eSports, saying competitive gaming requires strategy and some level of physical exertion, albeit on a lesser level than traditional sports like football or basketball.

Personally, I think that it should be classed as a sport because of the high level of proffesionalism from the players and the sheer numbers of people who attend the events.

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