What I Like: Nathan Lindberg, Twitch

PROFESSIONAL

What I like …

■ An insight: For every one thing different about esports, there’s two things that are the same with traditional sports.

Photo: COURTESY OF TWITCH

■ An influential person in my career: My aunt, Lauren Anderson. As a successful woman in the world of collegiate athletics she showed me that anything was possible and to believe in myself. She was also directly responsible for many of the most impactful fan moments I had growing up, that fueled my passion and desire to work in sports.

Photo: COURTESY OF TWITCH

Nathan Lindberg

Photo: COURTESY OF TWITCH

Director of esports,

Photo: COURTESY OF TWITCH

Twitch

Photo: COURTESY OF TWITCH

■ What I Do: I introduce brands and partners to the emerging world of esports. I’m one part salesman, one part evangelist and two parts enthusiast.

Photo: COURTESY OF TWITCH

■ Where I’m From: I originally hail from Norwich, Vt. I have found roots in New Jersey after an eight-year stint in San Francisco.

Photo: COURTESY OF TWITCH

■ Where I Went to School: Ithaca College, B.S. in sport media.

Photo: COURTESY OF TWITCH

■ My First Job: I sold ice cream bars for $1-$2 out of a Good Humor cart for a local charity. I set the record for sales in one day at $176!

Photo: COURTESY OF TWITCH

■ An out-of-the-box idea: What if virtual reality actually renders stadiums irrelevant?

Photo: COURTESY OF TWITCH

■ A timeless idea: Fans create sport, not the other way around.

Photo: COURTESY OF TWITCH

■ A business deal: The Bud Light All-Star program (Bud Light’s first foray into competitive gaming).

Photo: COURTESY OF TWITCH

■ A sports facility: Sucker for the friendly confines of Selhurst Park. Miss the old days of Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

Photo: COURTESY OF TWITCH

■ An esports facility: I’m excited to

finally visit the Spodek in Katowice, Poland, this year. Certainly one of the most unique esports venues to date.

■ Game to play: Golf and “Rocket League.”

■ Game to watch other people play: From an esports perspective,

Spodek in Katowice, Poland.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES

I love “Rocket League” and “Magic: The Gathering”; from a sports perspective, I’m not sure I can consume enough golf content.

Spodek in Katowice, Poland.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES

■ A strategy: NBCSN’s broadcasting deal with the EPL in America, one of my favorite Saturday morning traditions with my daughter.

Spodek in Katowice, Poland.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES

■ A hire: I’ve been fortunate to hire some incredible people. I just hope half of them will hire me once they take over the world.

Spodek in Katowice, Poland.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES

■ A brand: I have two favorites! Nando’s restaurants and Loudmouth. Both brands are playful, but both products are fantastic (in my opinion).

■ An innovation: Augmented reality, to me, is the next massive thing in sports and, frankly, everything.

■ A pro league or team business initiative: Biased here, but the NBA’s steadfast and continuing investment into esports is something that should be regarded as industry leading and the blueprint for how to evolve with technology.

■ A story that bears watching: Collegiate esports and the rise of scholarships being given to esports athletes by universities.

■ An idea or invention I wish I had thought of: Minecraft.

■ A fantasy job: I’m told by friends and colleagues that what I have already is a fantasy job, but I’d love to be the lead commentator for the Masters..

What I like about …

■ My job: I’m at the evolutionary crossroads of video games and sports.

■ The future of sports business: The blending of traditional and electronic sports.

■ Sports fans: A passion lacking reason, but full of confidence.

What I would like to …

■ Change in what I do: Spending less time having to rationalize esports and more time on how brands and partners execute in the space.