{"id":247171,"date":"2024-08-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=247171"},"modified":"2024-08-06T20:19:56","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06T20:19:56","slug":"army-esports-athlete-continues-family-legacy-shares-love-of-gaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=247171","title":{"rendered":"Army eSports athlete continues family legacy, shares love of gaming"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Sgt. Eduardo “EJ” Gonzaga plays Super Smash Bros against one of the event goers at MegaCon, in Orlando, Florida. The Marketing and Engagement Brigade’s eSports athletes attend events like MegaCon to interact with the public and increase public awareness about the Army (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Lauren Gajeton).
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Army News Service<\/p>\n

FORT KNOX, Kentucky \u2013 Moving from the Philippines to South Korea and then to Beaumont, Texas, only one thing remained consistent for one Soldier, his passion for gaming.<\/p>\n

Sgt. Eduardo Gonzaga, a field artillery cannon crewmember, competes on the U.S. Army Recruiting Command Marketing and Engagement Brigade eSports team.<\/p>\n

Family of service<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gonzaga found out about eSports from his father, who served in the Army for more than 23 years. He is the third generation in his family to serve in the Army, along with his two brothers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of us are in the military but that\u2019s not why I joined,\u201d he said smiling. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to stay home. My mom threatened me to stay at the house for 30 plus years and be babied. I didn\u2019t like that idea at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though he\u2019s the middle child, he was the first to join the Army.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brothers would ask me, \u2018Is it worth it? I was like, \u2018The benefits are crazy,\u2019\u201d he said, laughing. \u201cCurrently I\u2019m playing for the Army eSports team and that\u2019s my dream, to play professionally when I get out.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Sgt. Eduardo Gonzaga, who goes by gamer name “EJ,” competes on the U.S. Army Recruiting Command Marketing and Engagement Brigade eSports team (U.S. Army photo by Shannon Collins).
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Gaming<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gonzaga said the importance of gaming in the military is underrated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people get deployed, they bring their Xboxes with their friends, with multiplayer screen shares or split screens when it was still a thing,\u201d he said. \u201cEverybody played either in deployed locations or in their barracks. We hold tournaments to entertain ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only is gaming a hobby and sport, but technology translates over into skill sets such as cyber security and other critical career fields in the Army.<\/p>\n

Gonzaga\u2019s love of gaming began at his grandmother\u2019s house in the Philippines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had almost nothing,\u201d he said. \u201cShe had air conditioning, so I went there to get away from the sun. My brother had this really old computer that rings when you turn it on. I couldn\u2019t stop playing racing games on it. I was addicted.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he knew he was playing against bots but the internet was rare in the Philippines, so he was happy any time he defeated the bots.<\/p>\n

\u201cI carry the satisfaction I felt back then for beating those hard bots,\u201d he said as he drank another energy drink.<\/p>\n

His parents and brothers all play video games.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom just got into playing Nintendo Switch, Super Mario Party,\u201d he said. \u201cI gave her my switch in November, and she\u2019s been playing 10 hours every single day nonstop.\u201d<\/p>\n

eSports<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gonzaga, who goes by the gamer name \u201cEJ,\u201d said it\u2019s hard for him to pick a favorite game, but he currently plays and competes in Apex Legends for the Army eSports team. He said he puts in a minimum of four hours after work and at least 12 hours on weekends into his training in the game. Between the app and the stream, he said he\u2019s put in about 6,500 hours or about 150 days.<\/p>\n

All those hours paid off when he tried out and competed with the Army eSports team. He said when he first found out about the eSports team, his unit thought it was a scam.<\/p>\n

The Army eSports Team is a competition team with members drawn from active duty and the reserve. They create awareness about the Army and the opportunities it provides, said Capt. Mimi Mejia, U.S. Army Recruiting Command Marketing and Engagement Brigade company commander.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce my leadership realized it was a real thing, they helped me out every single time I needed something,\u201d Gonzaga said. He said it took some convincing, but once he took a few trips to compete and his leadership saw it was a real sport, they were excited for him.<\/p>\n

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\n Sgt. Eduardo Gonzaga, who goes by gamer name “EJ,” competes on the U.S. Army Recruiting Command Marketing and Engagement Brigade eSports team. His current competition game is Apex Legends (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Thomas Calvert).
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\u201cEveryone I know loves gaming, so they were excited to learn the Army has an eSports team and started trying out for it,\u201d he said excitedly.<\/p>\n

Before Gonzaga joined the eSports team, he was learning ammunition, fuses, their combinations and communications in his job as a field artillery cannon crewmember. He said his job knowledge helped him be a better gamer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helped me with communication toward my team, gathering information and giving it to my teams when they need it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gonzaga said this opportunity is priceless because he\u2019s meeting other professional players and streamers when he attends the competitions for the Army.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot. It\u2019s a lot of hard work,\u201d he said. \u201cI can take a lot of these skills and use it on my own when I get out. I\u2019ve met a lot of people. I reconnect with coworkers who either retired or who are still in the military.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he also meets fans who watch him on his streams or follow him on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talk nonstop, and I hang out with them. We follow the same streamers,\u201d he said. \u201cI still talk to most of them to this day.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the conventions are a great way to show the public another side of the Army.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re more than just infantry,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is my life; I love eSports.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sgt. Eduardo “EJ” Gonzaga plays Super Smash Bros against one of the event goers at MegaCon, in Orlando, Florida. The Marketing and Engagement Brigade’s eSports athletes attend events like MegaCon to interact with the public and increase public awareness about the Army (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Lauren Gajeton). (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":247173,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=247171"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247177,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247171\/revisions\/247177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/247173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=247171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=247171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=247171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}