As far as pioneering mainstream esports goes, it's easy to say that Overwatch has done a large portion of the leg work. While esports have been around for decades, Overwatch's Overwatch League, otherwise known as OWL, has even found its way onto ESPN, becoming so popular that a recent episode of American Dad features a prolonged segment of it.

The episode featured Stan Smith  with assassinating a North Korean general, who just so happens to be a massive esports fan, and only leaves his underground bunker to attend the final match of an Overwatch tournament in Hong Kong. Stan Smith, and a crew of other agents, then have to go undercover as a crew of "teenage gamers," complete with vape pens and "a s***load of mango vape juice."

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Forced to master the game, Stan then has to turn to his son Steve to help him, which is where the clip ends. It isn't the first time something like this has happened, esports have been referenced by SNL, but it's certainly one of the longer segments to make its way into mainstream pop-culture, though it's received a mixed reaction online.

Some seem to be enjoying the segment, citing that it's all in good fun, while others are seemingly upset by the negative portrayal of gamers. Despite gaming's popularity, professional esports are still a novel concept to many, which is why their depiction in other pop culture has been so strange. It might not do anything to help with their legitimacy, which has also been an ongoing conversation, but at the end of the day, it seems pretty harmless.

Odds are, esports will become an increasingly common part of mainstream pop culture over the next decade or so, eventually securing a spot as a legitimized sport. Interestingly enough, games like Madden are being used in lieu of physical sports during the coronavirus pandemic, which may help boost them across the finish line to legitimacy.

Overwatch has canceled tournaments due to the coronavirus pandemic, along with other major esport competitions around the world. It's difficult to say when things will return to normal, but fans do still have the games themselves to connect with their friends and family in the meantime.

Overwatch is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

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