Sept. 23, 2004
By Jesse Virgil
Staff Writer

With the NFL and College football seasons underway, fans are looking to interact with their favorite players and teams. Video games are by far one of the most dominating football pastimes.

“I just love being able to run a team like a coach and playing with my favorite players,” video game enthusiast John Kleinschmidt said. “When the season is over I’m still able to play my game, and it helps when I miss the real thing.”

The most popular football game is EA Sports Madden NFL Football. Since the games debut in 1990, Madden has become a world wide phenomenon. In its first week after being released, Madden 2005 sold over 1.3 million copies.

For the college football fans, EA Sports NCAA Football fills the void between Saturday’s and after the season is over.

“I enjoy NCAA better because of the game play and because I like college football better,” Brent Martin said.

For St. Ambrose students, Madden and NCAA have become such a integral part of campus life, Student Activities offers an Intramural tournament.

“I know its something that a lot of people are participating in, even in a non-structured way,” Director of Campus Recreation Sports Jeff Timmons said.

This year NCAA Football will be an Intramural tournament for Playstation 2. Players interested in competing must sign up by Oct. 5.

While the fascination will only grow with technology, there is no doubt that people will continue to play Madden or NCAA for years to come.

“Some people don’t understand why I buy Madden every year,” Kleinschmidt said. “I just love the new features, however for some people they could buy a copy and keep it for years.”

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