Who’s Gaming?

Everyone loves video games. Well, not everyone, but I do. Those of you who are with me on this know that each individual has their own personal favorites. Some people get down with the Final Fantasy adventure series. Others love online RPG’s. Others love one person shooters, both on individual consoles and online. For me, the bees knees is sports games. I’ve played sports games my whole life from Sega Genesis now into Xbox 360. I’ve had each generation of consoles, although not necessarilly all consoles within each generation. College was a good time for gaming because it seemed as though everyone had a different console and you could play whatever satisfied your heart, and could find others to play with you.

As each new season begins, I get the urge to start a new game. Around December I think about playing a basketball game. In March the itch to play a college basketball game kicks in. As soon as March Madness is over, it’s an MLB game I’m after. As sure as the seasons will change, so too will be my desire to switch to a new sports game.

John, You’ve done this to me…

No itch needs scratching so hard as the Madden itch. For a few years I didn’t play at all. As we used to say, “Madden ruins my life.” It takes enormous amounts of time, is infuriatingly frustrating, and some would argue, accomplishes absolutely nothing.

I don’t play against anyone. I’m a franchise geek. Nobody wants to hear about my Madden franchise either. I had a buddy in college. We would tell each other about our franchises. It was pretty well understood that we neither of us cared, but we shared stories because the dedication associated with our franchises deserved at least a courtesy listen.

The point is that if you spend hours upon hours building something that no one ever hears about, shouldn’t we all have a forum to talk about it to someone who will show you the courtesy of listening to your accomplishments? This is my forum, and yours too.

How do you Madden?

To get things started, I’d like to talk about some diamonds in the rough in Madden ‘09. You can always find these guys available for trade or draft (in Fantasy Drafts) and they can really help your team, like when you accidentally decide Matt Schaub is your starting QB.

1. Dennis Dixon, QB. The rookie out of Oregon is ranked a 72 in the game, but is easily the top easy to acquire backup QB in the game. I turned a terribly boring franchise, with no wide receivers around by benching Schaub and starting Dixon instead. If you’re in a jam, sign him up.

2. Mike Wright, DT. I don’t find having a top DT to be as important in this years version as in years past. He’s still available towards the end of Fantasy Drafts and is also easily acquired.

3. TJ Houshmandzadeh, WR. He’s no secret, but after the first season of any standard franchise, the Bengals inexplicably release him and Chad Ocho Cinco Johnson Ramirez del Franco Smith. Sign up Housh and make him your #1 for Year 2.

NFL GREATS

My new favorite feature in this years game is that you can activate the NFL greats for a fantasy draft. So far the players I’ve found to be most helpful are Mel Blount (CB), Jack Lambert (LB), and Sammy Baugh (QB). The most valuable drafty you can take is Marion Motley (FB). He’s ranked a 99 on speed and converts every 3rd and short, without fail.

Back to the point… Open Up the Field

So as much as I want to get into my Redskins fantasy draft franchise with NFL Greats, I’m not going to do it. I’d rather open up the floor for others to tell us about their Diamonds in the rough, their top two minute drill plays, and how to return a kickoff for a touchdown without Reggie Bush. Anything Madden goes here on Your Madden.

Chris, (Madden Rating: 650-750, depending on how much John hates me that game…)

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