Noah Smith, Washington Post Sports Contributor and friend of Checkpoint XP, returns a third time on the show, and shares his gaming background and how esports fell into his lap.
Noah grew up with the original Nintendo games, such as Duck Hunt and Track and Field. His love for video games continued to grow from Sega to Sony PlayStation. He recounts his stories of eating pizza with his siblings while playing video games.
Noah also recounts how he got into writing esports. He first started writing for the Washington Post about the California wildfires and breaking news. A colleague of his sent him an email about the Overwatch League opening, but both of them did not know anything about it. Noah’s editor insisted him to cover the event. When Noah attended the Overwatch League Media Day, he interested, seeing many sports leaders and owners. He reached out to Patriots owner, Robert Kraft for a few words. To his surprise, Robert Kraft, actually called him back and talked about his investment into esports.
Noah also recounts his most recent interview with retired NBA player and investor to the Overwatch League team, San Francisco Shock, Shaquille O’Neal.
During the interview, the Checkpoint XP crew discuss the recent news of a parents taking his son out of high school for esports. Noah shares his thoughts:
I thought this through, and I actually support it as long as it’s the kid’s decision. As long it’s the kid’s decision and driving the train, so to speak, and not the parent, I’m 100% in favor of it, because that sort of experience of having to go for something and having a commitment. Even when it doesn’t work out, it can still have its benefits.
– Noah Smith
Follow Noah Smith on social media!
Twitter: @_noahble
Website: noahble.com
Check out our other great interviews and shows!
Checkpoint Daily – Friday, July 12th 2019 feat Jon Vokel, Ric “Weird Beard” Hogerheide, & Noah Smith
Noah Smith, Washington Post Sports Contributor – Esports Contracts
Dr. Amine Issa, Founder and Warchief of Science for Mobalytics
Sara Jones, Host of Laughing in the Dark Podcast
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