IN the 19th century and prior, wealth was mostly spread out among the royals and nobles with the rest of the people resigned to a life of peasantry with limited opportunities.
But somewhere along the way came education. It gave the masses a fighting chance of having a better life, as long as folk did well in school, which led to it being called the “great equaliser” from a socioeconomic perspective.
While education may no longer guarantee a secure life like it did before the 1980s, throw a stone into a crowd today and you'll probably hit a diploma holder, I believe there is a new “great equaliser” on the sporting front.
It is called esports.
Online games such as Mobile Legends (ML) and PlayersUnknown Battlegrounds (PUBG) have mushroomed in recent years and are massively popular with impressive esports tournament circuits offering millions of ringgit internationally. And even some local competitions have tempting prize purses in excess of RM100,000.
Also on the e-menu are sports-based games such as simulator racing, football, basketball, which are well liked around the world.
What makes esports so popular is its accessibility. Everyone can play as long as they have the hardware: a phone, gaming console or computer, and the related peripherals.
You don’t have to be athletically gifted, you don't have to be rich, you don't need to have good looks to find sponsors and you are never too young or too old to join the esports world.
Everyone is on a level playing field in this realm.
Sim racing is a fine example of esports bridging the gap between virtual and reality as the driver inputs are exactly the same as what a real race driver would use.
Even current and former Formula One drivers such as Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Jenson Button are into sim racing because it helps keep them sharp and they probably enjoy it too.
A number of esports drivers have also been selected to compete in real racing championships. This has also happened locally with Ady Rahimy Rashid who has gone on to win the Malaysian Championship Series and Sepang 1000 kilometres in real life.
Not many parents can afford to send their children for karting championships, which traditionally have been the development path for drivers, as it can cost tens of thousands of ringgit even for domestic championships.
This means that a country like Malaysia will find it difficult to get the best talent as there could be faster or better drivers out there who could not afford to go through such development path. But this won’t be the case in esports.
The Covid-19 pandemic has given esports a big promotion boost, thanks to Formula One, MotoGP and cycling's Tour de Flanders becoming virtual races that featured their biggest stars. And this is only the start of bigger things to come for esports.
There are already plans in place to push for esports’ inclusion in future Olympics.
The Olympics’ spirit is “not to win but to take part”. And esports is equality as everyone can take part.