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The very old stereotype that playing video games is mainly for stay-at-home nerds has of course been put to rest in recent times.
For one, video games have burst into mainstream culture and two, live streaming via Twitch or YouTube has allowed anyone to broadcast their love of gaming.
That includes professional athletes, who are at odds with that old nerd stereotype. Here are professionals that push their body to the very limits to compete athletically, and find the time to sit down in front of a TV or monitor and play some games.
We put the spotlight on five athletes that are avid gamers when they’re away from their sport. Let’s dive in:
Anthony Joshua — Boxing Champion & Former Olympic Gold Medalist
England’s own Anthony Joshua is one week away from squaring off against Kubrat Pulev in the boxing ring. Yet, per Joshua, his entire career was apparently almost derailed by a video game addiction.
Joshua’s game of choice was the FIFA franchise. And according to the heavyweight champion of the world, he had to stop playing the football game because it was negatively impacting his sleep schedule and recovery.
Turns out, world-class boxers are just like other gamers – sometimes ditching sleep in favour of mastering video game skills and unlocking collectibles.
And as fate would have it, Joshua later became a playable character in FIFA 21. We wonder if Joshua broke his own rules about late-night gaming to play as himself in-game.
David Meyler — Ex-Ireland Football National Team Player
For all intents and purposes, Meyler had a good playing career on the pitch. He spent six years each representing England club Hull City and his own country’s national team, Ireland. Yet, he’s also a great FIFA player.
Meyler recently retired from football, but not before amassing more than 350,000 subscribers on YouTube and another 100,000 followers on Twitch. On his accounts, Meyler regularly streams his FIFA games, where he’s shown some impressive skills.
In spite of retiring at only 30 years old, Meyler hasn’t transitioned into gaming full-time in his post-football life. He insists the game is merely a hobby for him and one he’s good at.
Neymar — PSG & Brazil Football Forward
To say Neymar is good at his day job would be an understatement. The PSG and Brazil forward is actually among the greatest of his generation. But his dedication to his craft doesn’t stop him from gaming.
Neymar is a huge fan of shooting games. That includes Counter-Strike and Call of Duty, which he regularly streams from his Twitch account.
Gaming has even taken precedence over football for Neymar once or twice before. The player famously skipped the 2018 Ballon d’Or ceremony in favor of a Call of Duty live stream. Though, this is probably something only people world-class at their job can get away with…
Harry Kane — Tottenham & England Football Forward
Alright, it’s another footballer on the list. But here’s where Kane separates himself from the aforementioned Neymar and Meyler: he admitted to gaming plenty – and often during the 2018 World Cup.
Of course, you may remember Kane led the Three Lions to a fourth-place finish in the world competition. But in between pressure-cooker World Cup matchups, Kane admitted he and squadmates let off some mid-tournament steam with games of Fortnite.
Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson — MMA Fighter
We started the top-5 list with a combat sports participant and we end it with one, too. Johnson is perhaps the greatest flyweight to ever come across the sport with a 30-3-1 career mark.
Akin to the ring where he mixes and matches different fight styles, Johnson also enjoys a variety of genres when partaking in games. He’s streamed himself playing everything from World of Warcraft to Resident Evil to Rainbow Six and more.
So the next time someone scolds you for gaming instead of doing work, you can just say there are successful athletes who found the time for gaming.
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