THE NEW HOME TEAM: Varsity gaming at the University Of Utah.

• Position: Technology

Video gaming is a big industry. I'm not talking here about the making and selling of games, consoles and the like. Playing the games. As in, professional gamers competing with one another for massive prizes, watched by millions of viewers. And now, the University of Utah has a varsity sports team to compete in that rapidly growing arena. Make that an esports team.

WAIT, WHAT?

Yes, esports is really a thing. And it's just as competitive as any other athletic field. Globally, the nascent esports industry is predicted to generate $1 billion annually by or before 2020. Small potatoes by NFL standards; the sector, however, is growing at 36 percent per year.

For those of us who associate gaming with unshaven millennials bunkered behind empty pizza boxes in their parents' basements, the following may shake our perceptions:

* ESPN now has a segment dedicated to esports. A quick browse through www.espn.com/esports reveals a bewildering melange of headlines such as (October 26, 2017) "Punk wins Red Bull Battlegrounds North American qualifier and Capcom Cup No. 1 seed"; "Kirk Lacob of the Warriors: 'League of Legends is obviously best in class'"; "Sources: Arrow to join OpTic Gaming"; "Seoul Dynasty coach Hocury: 'People are underrating all the non-Korean teams'"; and "Pulling in Pobelter is Liquid's best move." You know, the sort of sportsblather that rivets fans and followers, while signifying nothing to the rest of us.

* Gaming could become an Olympic event. Really. Tony Estanguet, co-president of the Paris bid committee--Paris, apparently, has landed the 2024 games--is lobbying the International Olympic Committee for esports' inclusion into the Games. "The youth, yes, they are interested in esport," Estanguet said. "Let's look at it. Let's meet them." Already, the Olympic Council of Asia will include esports in the 2022 Asian Games. (For those who, like myself, have never heard of the Olympic Council of Asia and the Asian Games: it's only "the second-largest multi-sport event after the Olympics" and is recognized by the International Olympic Committee.)

* People fill stadiums to watch esporting events. Big stadiums. 90,000 seats big. OK, so it's China where folks are really, really into their gaming, but still ...

* Speaking of China: esports gambling is so big that one betting platform launched its own cryptocurrency to offer "responsible bookmaking for the long haul in esports." The cryptocurrency, UnikoinGold, "took in $15 million from...