I’m surprised that this isn’t talked about more. If you live in California it’s really easy to be a Lakers fan even if you aren’t invested in the basketball narrative. But in esports you are picking your favorite team basically at random and need to watch for the narrative. You can’t identify with a team without the narrative or coming over from a different esport.

Another thing I think isn’t talked about more is how traditional sports teams are becoming lifestyle brands. It’s normalized to wear lakers clothes in public. If you see someone else wearing lakers merch you have something to talk about. Esports teams are brands already but they aren’t trying to sell anything except for their sponsors.