Oh My Dark Magician: There's a Petition to Make "Yu-Gi-Oh!" an Olympic Sport

Now this takes athleticism. 

If you've watched the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at all, you'd know that the games are tough. The athletes are world-class. The passion, enthusiasm and dedication necessary to compete at such a high level is second to none.

So, it makes perfect sense that we'd make Yu-Gi-Oh! a legitimate Olympic sport.

Anyone who has played the Japanese trading card game (or watched the series) knows that believing in the heart of the cards takes an immense amount of skill, wisdom and resilience. 

That's probably why Xiran Jay Zhao started a Change.org petition to turn it into a sport at the Olympics.

If you're wondering what makes it worthy of such prestige, don't worry, Zhao has answered that question for you.

"The playing of Yu-Gi-Oh! requires dexterity (when drawing the cards), athleticism (when playing the cards), and endurance (when you're in round 10 of a YCS)," he wrote.

We couldn't agree more. 

I am calling on the @iocmedia to make Yugioh an official Olympic sport. It requires dexterity (when drawing the cards), athleticism (when playing the cards), and endurance (when you're in round 10 of a YCS).

Please sign my heartfelt petition.https://t.co/sRM0rh9fy0

— Xiran Jay Zhao (@XiranJayZhao) July 28, 2021

As of writing this article, the petition has amassed a somewhat surprising 14,788 signatures.

Honestly, just give the people what they want. 

If you need a quick recap on how the game is played, it follows a very specific order of operations. To begin a duel, the decks are shuffled and each player draws an opening hand of five cards. (You know what, just head here for more specific instructions.) 

So, could Yu-Gi-Oh! become an official Olympic sport? Well, that largely depends on how you define what a sport is. According to the Oxford Dictionary, a sport is "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or a team competes against another or others for entertainment." 

With that definition in mind, it does kinda seem like we could consider Yu-Gi-Oh! a sport, right? But does that mean we'd have to add other card games to the Olympics too? We've got so many questions! 

For obvious reasons, it's unlikely that Zhao's dreams of Yu-Gi-Oh! being turned into an Olympic sport will actually become a reality. (Although, a recent report by the Los Angeles Times holds that esports are poised to become the next new Olympic sport, so maybe it's not completely out of the question.)

Let's hope so, because we were beginning to have visions of a massive CGI Blue-Eyes White Dragon filling an excited stadium to the sound of the Yu-Gi-Oh! theme tune. 

One can only dream. 

Header Image: Konami