A few weeks ago in mid-January a landmark for the future of gaming was met. ESPN entered into an agreement with MLG so they could start televising and supplementing pro gaming with similar attention to pro football and baseball. The first question you might be asking is "What are people going to think of gaming?" or "What is that going to look like on TV?"
I've got a better question though. Not only is it a question I can answer, but it's a little more relevant: "How can I benefit from this?". Sports are showered with money every year, and this is just the boost that video games in general need in order to start getting out of the red and into the black. "How can I get in on a piece of that ESPN pie?"

Note to self: An "ESPN pie" would sell great around Superbowl Sunday.

Well let's look at the sort of things ESPN is going to need to get this whole pro gaming thing fired up. They've already got permission to put these digital matches on air, and with the replay features of Halo 3 they'll have no problem creating action shots with good camera angles. What ESPN is going to need most is real people. Not just announcers, but people who know Halo nation and people who can fill the hours of television when fans want to watch something related to MLG. It's unbelievable how much time people spend watching other people talk about football, even when there's no game on. I'm not just talking about the pre-game and the post-game chatter that lasts for hours. I'm talking about how at any given time of day I can turn on the television and watch somebody talk about football (given I purchase the right channels).

Surely MLG will not be escalated to such a position with a quickness, but ESPN is going to need a group of people to sit around and talk about the latest gaming news on the pro circuit and otherwise. It's what these people do. And ESPN is going to want people recognized by the Halo Nation that are charismatic and appealing enough to be accepted by the population in general. It's with this reasoning that I could see Kevin and Olivia or perhaps Gus (kidding of course) giving us some commentary during the latest highlight reel of MLG matches.

My advice to fellow capitalist minds out there who want a piece of the sports cash cow is this: get famous. I know it seems hard, but believe me when I say it's not going to get any easier than it is right now. When that cash cow explodes and money starts raining down from the hands of eager advertisers and into the industry of gaming, well everyone is going to want to be there to collect on that.

Note to self: A "cash cow" would make for a really fun piñata.