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The agony of defeat
Taking the Madden Challenge in Foxboro
BY JIM MURRAY
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It’s once again football season. So, this past Sunday I and about a thousand others (mostly men) gathered at the local pigskin shrine known as Gillette Stadium in Foxborough to take in all the football one can handle. What’s that you say? The Patriots didn’t play this past Sunday? I know that. I’m not talking about NFL football. I’m talking about Madden Football! Or to be more precise, I’m talking about the 2004 EA Sports Madden Challenge. Now in its third year, the EA Sports Madden Challenge is a nationwide Madden tournament that takes place in each "NFL city" throughout the football season. The winner from each qualifying city will then go on to the finals held in Las Vegas for the chance to play for $50,000. Can you imagine that? Earning a year's salary just for being good at a goddamn videogame? The Madden Challenge "commissioner," Charles "The Solution" Smith, told me, "I remember when my folks would tell me to hit those books and get off that Nintendo! Now? It’s crazy. I see parents coming out and cheering on their kids like it’s a Little League game. I guess 50 grand can change a parent's perspective." Yes, crazy would be an understatement. Last year I got to cover this tournament in every city for the cable network G4TechTv, and some of the things people would do in order to win this tournament amazed me. For instance, there were two guys that spent countless thousands of dollars traveling to nearly every city (again, that’s 32) to try and lock up a spot in the finals in Vegas. Unfortunately, neither of them made it. On an even sadder note, one of those gentlemen even took his own life after last year’s tournament wrapped up. Now, this guy obviously had other deep psychological problems that led him to do such a thing, but could this highly-addictive videogame make some people that crazy? Or is it just the thought of winning all that sweet, sweet cash? On this particular Sunday, I found a young man named John Burt who helped answer that question. You see, Burt, 18, told me that he had "hitchhiked from Dalton, New Hampshire all through the night to be able to get to the tournament today. All in all, it took about 11 hours." He went on to say, "Look, I know that seems really crazy, but I’m really good at Madden, and I knew this would be my only chance to maybe get my hands on some easy money. Fifty grand is no joke." Unfortunately, this young wanderer got knocked out of the tournament in the fourth round, thus ruining any hopes of 50Gs and having some money for a cab ride home. I had to ask him, was it worth it? "Definitely. I had a lot of fun, learned some new tricks, and made some new friends. Now I guess I’ve just got to see if I can get a ride home, or at least to Boston." The "making-friends" aspect of the Madden Challenge is what impresses me the most about this tournament. At every stop on the tour you’ve got whites, blacks, Asians, Hispanics, young, old, gay, and straight all getting along and having a good time. Sure, there’s a lot of "smack talk," but it’s all in good fun for the most part. I wondered, though, are all these guys behaving themselves because they don’t want to blow any chance of winning 50 grand? Or could this possibly be the greatest sociology project ever? "Commissioner" Smith summed it up for me. "This here is a barrier breaker. No color lines, no age differences, none of that. You’ve got people from all walks of life coming to this tournament. I don’t know what it is about Madden, but the game just brings people together. We’re all brothers because we’ve got Madden." I asked, "Do you think it’s because of the NFL’s popularity that people like this game so much? Or is it something else?" "Well, look at the TV numbers," Smith replied. "The popularity of the NFL definitely helps the sales of this game. But I think deep down it’s so popular because we’re all so competitive. Everyone thinks that they can beat the other guy. Whether it’s pool, cards, sports, or videogames. Even when you lose, you still feel like you can beat the other guy. To me, and to a lot of these ballers, it’s not about the money. Yeah, 50Gs is nice, but the bragging rights? That’s what everyone wants." Ah yes, the bragging rights — the real reason I was here at Gillette Stadium. Sure, I had to do this article, and I wanted to see some old friends, but I was signed up to play! I wanted to prove to the world that I was the Madden champ of New England! Well, I’ll tell ya: There’s nothing that tells you "You suck" at Madden like showing up at these tournaments. I got knocked out in the first round, 24-0. Truth be told, I didn’t even get to finish my game due to EA’s "Skunk rule," which states that the game must be aborted at halftime if you are down 21 points or more. Now, had I not had a bit of a background in covering this event, I would have not only been embarrassed at my awful showing, but I probably would have smashed my controller off of the TV. However, I can tell you that most of the competitors that play in these tournaments play Madden like it’s their job. Seriously. There are many "underground leagues" that EA Sports doesn't want anybody to know about because the guys that play in them are essentially like professional poker players. They play anywhere, anytime, and put in from eight to 16 hours a day. Also, like them, they play games for money. Big money. Does this make the Madden Challenge impossible to win? Well, truthfully, if you are just a casual player like myself, yes. However, these "pro" players, if you will, deserve to be there, and there are a lot of these kinds of players out there. To the "Madden community" these players are better known simply as "ballers." Nathan "Young Gunz" Stanton, 20, is a "baller." The New York native was the day’s big winner at Gillette Stadium, wrapping up his spot to play for that 50 grand in Las Vegas this December. Stanton also won last year's Boston regional tournament of the Madden Challenge, making him the first player to ever win in the same city in back-to-back years. Imagine that: a New Yorker coming in to our backyard and walking away with the spoils. Bastard. The 2004 EA Sports Madden Challenge still has about three-and-a-half months to go. If you think you’ve got what it takes to handle the pressure of tournament play against some of the greatest Madden "ballers" in the country, then check out Maddenchallenge.com to see what city the tournament is going to be in next. And who knows? Perhaps you could find yourself competing for the grand prize of 50 thousand dollars. All from a goddamn videogame.
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