Why The Load-In Exists

It’s hard to imagine a different universe without covering esports. Without Twitch Plays Pokémon, the global phenomenon that got me interested in the platform on a much deeper level, I wouldn’t have discovered the online card game that would eventually lead me to hover around the esports space as a passing observer.

Around this time, my sports journalism essentially had both feet in the grave and was anticipating the lid being closed and dirt being piled on.

I thought I was done. I was content to teach for the remainder of my life and just fade into Bolivian, as Mike Tyson once famously misspoke.

Life has a funny way of working, though. While I was a teacher, playing Hearthstone – famously spending one New Year’s Eve playing ladder before the monthly reset – I taught journalism, which had a strange effect. I recalled loving doing the groundwork that good sports journalism was built on.

I left teaching briefly in 2022; COVID burnt me out, and I managed to land a pretty sweet but overall unfulfilling job as an internal comms specialist.

Alongside that, I managed to hop on to cover the Vegas Golden Knights as an independent correspondent for NHL.com, a gig I still have today.

Sports journalism had returned to my life, forcibly yanking me out of the coffin and reigniting a passion for writing.

So, when Arash Markazi launched The Sporting Tribune with Las Vegas as one of its markets, I viewed it as an opportunity to extend the newfound life that remained in my sports writing career.

I was ready to write about Las Vegas sports all over again. But one section piqued my interest: esports.

When the Sporting Tribune launched, it ran press releases that were automatically fed by Field Level Media. I saw this and thought, “Maybe I could fill this content.”

I haven’t done the best job, but now I’m finding myself knee-deep in connections and stories that will pop up on The Load-In.

I’d file a story every now and then, but nothing like the past year.

I knew League of Legends World Championships were coming to the United States in 2026. But knowing how sports media works, I didn’t want to just parachute in and ask for credentials and permission to cover an event (remember folks, sports, unlike politics, is a privilege to cover, not a right).

Naturally, I reached out to Riot, met the team there (Ari, Ashe, Moriah, you guys are awesome), and started covering League on a more-than-steady basis. This, combined with my passion for fighting games (shout-out to Matt, Steve, and Rick) and my curiosity about other esports, led me to do two things: analyze the esports space and gain confidence that I had something to offer.

The esports media scene – primarily in North America – is broken.

It’s by no fault of the people in the space. Most are fans. Most follow the Bill Simmons playbook of fan-first journalism. Also, the space is heavily conflated with the gaming industry, and it fails to separate the two.

The harsh realities hit me at MSI in Korea. Korean teams operated on a far different level – less content creator first, more traditional sports team. You talk about the game, the event, the tournament, with little deviation from that expectation.

Only after a poorly done interview by me did I realize I, too, had fallen into the trap. Only then did I decide to jump feet-first into the old-school approach to the game.

My first rule about The Load-In is that I don’t make my team fandom public. Yes, I’ll make friends in the space, but like Kobe Bryant running through Pau Gasol’s chest at the Olympics, we’re friends, but we both got jobs to do.

I love the sport more than a team and tell the stories in the most neutral, unbiased way to serve fans of all teams, not a handful. Also, if I openly had a fandom listed on my account, wouldn’t that already harm your view of my content and make you take my takes seriously? Probably not. You weren’t going to anyway, but this gives you an easy out.

It’s what made launching The Load-In important to me.

Esports will change, but it’s the kind of change traditional sports experienced long ago.

The latest concern: gambling sponsors. They have ruined ESPN and other sites with a focus on pandering to the gambling crowd. As a Las Vegas native, I know what well-regulated sports betting looks like. Trust me on this: prediction markets are 50 miles below the topsoil of that level.

This brings me to my second rule: zero gambling sponsors on my videos. This is a lucrative market that I’m flat-out rejecting.

It’s why I partnered with CounterPress.

I want this journey to be funded by fans who want something different. This rule also extends to my videos, where I hope to partner with brands that fit my values and things I feel are important to my viewers. Look, I’m putting my name on something; it better be something I’m proud to push.

You’ve sat through reading my self-aggrandizement, so now it’s time to make some promises to you, the community.

First, I promise to listen. We may not agree on things. We may not reach a conclusion that makes us both happy, but we’ll need to agree to disagree. Our goals are similar; we want to see this industry thrive and be sustainable.

Second, is there anything you want to see covered? Ask! I’m someone who wants to tell stories and loves learning new things, even at a fundamental level. So, is there an esport you want me to explore? Let me know, and I can see what I can do.

Lastly, none of this is possible without you. So before we even get started: Thank you. Thank you for giving this a chance.

It’s crazy to think that what started as a passive interest has become something bigger in my life.

With that said, welcome to The Load-In.