OP, I think you are being a bit too hasty and judgmental about the entire MLG organization.
MLG, the company, is a legitimate business that is trying to be the first to capitalize on the growing trend of competitive gaming. They aren't trying to make it into a "swift cash grab", they are trying to make it into a successful and prosperous enterprise. They saw the demand for such a league, and took advantage of the opportunity.
Secondly, the players that you talk about who buy the MLG Gamerpics and then go "play Call of Duty for two hours" are most definitely not the professionals who show up at live tournaments. Will you find trash-talking 12 year olds at MLG events? Maybe a few. Are the majority of pro gamers a bunch of pre-pubescent scumbags with nothing better to do than beat you at a game and call you all manner of profanities and racist slurs at the same time? Definitely not. (Also, just a quick side note, MLG doesn't play Call of Duty at their Live events because the System Link multiplayer is quite unwieldy compared to the online component.)
I am a pretty die hard Halo fan and have been for many years, and I've been fortunate enough in my time with the game to play with and against a few of the real pros, that is, the players who consistently finish in the top 8 at MLG events. Aside from being exceptionally good at the games they play, they are also really friendly, and all-around cool guys. I've spoken to several Halo pros at the events that I've attended (Walshy and Karma standout in my mind as being the most likable), and they're all cool, down-to-earth guys who just happen to be really talented at Halo -- their personalities and behaviors are a far cry from those of the obnoxious kids you might meet on Xbox Live.
The real players, the ones who have been around since the league started, are not in it for the money. I've never placed very well at an MLG tournament, and I've probably spent over $1000 of my own money to attend several events, with nothing tangible to show for it. But that's the thing, it's not the tangible stuff that makes it a worthwhile experience. I know full well as soon as I set foot on that event floor that I won't walk away with a dime in prize money, but I look forward to that moment anyway because I love the great feeling you get when you win a tournament game. For me, the money has nothing to do with it -- I just really enjoy that satisfaction I get from beating other players, and that feeling of knowing precisely where I stand amongst the best in the game. To the people who say "video games are supposed to be fun", I say to them that competitive games, played in a tournament atmosphere with a group of good friends on your team, is a ton of fun.
The real pros have been with the league since it was just a handful of grassroots tournaments, where the only prize was knowing that you were better than someone else. Hell, the guy who founded the league and now works out of a swanky Manhattan office (Sundance D'Giovani) used to help carry and set-up the TVs and equipment that the players used, and pay the prize money out of his own pocket. The guys who are really MLG players compete because they love the tournament atmosphere, and because they have a desire to be the best at what they do, not to make a paycheck.
Also -- I saw this brought up earlier and didn't want to leave it unmentioned in my essay -- pro gaming is as much a sport as Poker, Monopoly, or the Spelling Bee (meaning, it isn't a sport). What people don't seem to understand is that those things (gaming included) are competitions, not sports. The notion of having MLG in the Olympics is absurd, and anyone who is actually involved with the league or is really a pro player will be the first to tell you what they do isn't a sport, just to clarify that point.
Sorry about the wall of text; hopefully someone will be inclined to read the whole thing!
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