ESPN President John Skipper may not consider comeptitive gaming a sport, but that didn't stop ESPN 2 from broadcasting the championship round of Blizzard's "Heroes of the Dorm" event, a collegiate tournament for the free-to-play MOBA Heroes of the Storm.
Reaction to the event, which took the primetime slot on one of the permiere sports stations, was… interesting, to say the least. While not everyone was on board with ESPN airing an esport over a traditional sport, some actually embraced the network's willingness to air video game programming. But no reaction was better than that of ESPN's Michelle Beadle, co-host of SportsNation.
Anyone who watches SportsNation knows Beadle is entertaining on air, but turns out she's even more hilarious on Twitter. Her reactions to Heroes of the Storm are almost as entertaining as the game itself.
I took the bait. Just turned on ESPN 2. As someone whose face appears daily on the channel, I don't have answers. #LeeroyJenkins #chicken
— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) April 27, 2015
Was my water laced with something? What's happening. pic.twitter.com/ULlsUVdg78
— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) April 27, 2015
Yet I can't stop watching. I have things to do. But I can't move. This has mesmerized me. https://t.co/wZuS2aDuCq
— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) April 27, 2015
I'm loving the cautious approach by both teams. A lot of twirling and shooting and stuff. The mines could prove disastrous.
— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) April 27, 2015
I once saw a team blow a 100 skull lead. Those men never recovered.
— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) April 27, 2015
Kill the core!!!
— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) April 27, 2015
I have not moved from this seat. How can we be a part of this? All I ever mastered was DuckHunt. https://t.co/Eh8YaOwI0A
— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) April 27, 2015
Sky Temple is next? Color me intrigued. #HeroesOfTheDorm
— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) April 27, 2015
On Twitter it's unclear how much of her tweets are actual genuine interest in the game, and how much is her just trying to be funny. Either way, Beadle's reactions to some of the events unfolding were hilarious to read.
Hopefully the feedback to Heroes of the Storm on ESPN encourages the network to further explore video game programming.