The stage lights shine down in blue, red and purple hints, casting deep shadows across the aisles.
The crowd, packed to the brim in the theater-turned-arena clamors from their padded seats as the lights flash gold, signifying Western Michigan University’s victory.
The large wall-mounted TV’s echo the sentiment, the vivid colors turn a triumphant blue and the word “Victory” is emblazoned across the screen in big and bold letters.
The players stand up from their sleek, state-of-the-art computers, the RGB lights shining off their youthful faces as they high-five and celebrate.
On April 29, Norrix’s Esports Club toured Western Michigan University's new esports arena.
The trip came about as just an idea. In one of the weekly virtual meetings held by Norrix’s Esports Club they discussed future opportunities and potential activities that students would be interested in taking part of.
One of them, the idea of tournaments, was started, with two tournaments held over the year with the hope for more in the next school year. But one of the greatest sentiments that was heard mimicked from many of the students was reaching out to colleges, particularly local ones, for potential visits to learn more about the way that esports continues into the collegiate level.
As esports grows at the global level, the midwest is a massive leader in the collegiate scene. Schools across the country are building up their programs, and titans like Illinois State University are setting the standard with a $5.95 million Esports arena to be built in the next year.
Senior James Hauke said, “The future of high school esports is on a rapid incline… I’ve seen a lot of other schools increase their presence in the esports scene and it’s awesome.”
High schools are the breeding grounds for this talent. With many of the players involved in running the program, setting up all the tech, and of course, playing, esports graduate assistant at ISU, Jack Blahnik, conveyed the importance of getting the younger students involved.
“That’s the story of ISU is they’ve included students in the process every part of the way. As a student, I can tell you that has such a profound impact,” Blahnik said.
Colleges in Michigan like WMU, Northwood University and the University of Michigan are all seeing their opportunities as well, snapping up talent from high schools and competitive teams.
In an interview with Tavian Napier, WMU’s former Esports Coordinator who helped start the program, Napier said “The biggest thing is more schools need to support the esports scene. There are many who don't take Esports seriously still.”
As Norrix students sat down to play games together for the first time in person since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, you can get a glimpse of the future of esports. The visions of packed stadiums and iridescent screens along with mountains of posters, jerseys, and all sorts of memorabilia is interlaced with images of the students, the ones who will inevitably lead the way to successes across the nation.
Crookston said, “The arena and program were awesome. Seeing that people were willing to put so much money and time into esports at a local college is amazing.”
As even more high schools and colleges jump on the bandwagon, involving kids in their favorite pastimes in ways that bring out their creativity, leadership and competitive skills, Norrix is poised to be at the forefront.
As Hauke said, “I think esports really has the possibility of bridging a gap between high school and college where I think that teams can work really well together.”
Credits:
Foster Neve-Jones, Zoe Bierema and Ben Jones