Daddy's Fish BowlA Clear View Of A Father's Family Experiences

Sometimes I Feel Like This Guy

How many of you know that today is a worldwide holiday? Come on now, don’t all raise your hands at once. Well in case you’ve been in the dark for the past 2 decades, let me enlighten you. Today is none other than “MADDEN DAY”. That’s right; the beloved football game series has its own holiday for gamers worldwide. Madden Day is celebrated each year upon the release of the newest Madden football game by gamers worldwide. I have celebrated Madden Day in some way, shape, or form, for the past 15 years. Did you hear what I just said, for 15 years I have been coming back for more. Year after year, regardless of how great or horrible the game was; I was there front and center ready to hand over my hard earned cash in order to continue my legacy as a Madden great. This year however, I’m facing a decision of catastrophic proportions. Do I continue my Madden tradition and pick up the 2011 edition, or do I throw in the towel, call it quits and retire? To some, this may not seem like a perplexing problem; rest assured, after you read this post, you’ll understand why I’m so conflicted.

You guys have to understand, Madden and I have history together. I’ve sacrificed a lot for my Madden game playing pleasure. I can remember back in high school, when Madden Day came around I would skip school in order to get a leg up on the competition (don’t tell my mom). Before Madden tournaments became the thing to do, I was hosting them at my Mom’s house. We had official rules, about 20 contenders and a grand prize of a couple hundred dollars. Do you know how awesome that sounds to a teenager? I’m going to play a video game and possible get paid to do it? I created a Madden utopia for my friends. If that wasn’t bad enough, I installed a TV screen in my car with a playstation; my friends and I would ride around for hours playing Madden. We never got really far however, because I had to pull over each 1st down so that I could get a play in. It’s sad I know, if there was such a thing as Madden Rehab, I should have been signed up and committed a long time ago.

But you see, the glory years of Madden are long gone. Back in the day, Madden was always a fun and exciting game for me because of the cheesy gameplay mechanics that I was able to exploit so easily. Mechanics such as the unstoppable Hail Mary; I perfected this move and used it to hoist me into the Madden hall of fame. Seriously, I once beat a near and dear friend (who shall remain nameless to protect the innocent) 110-7. Do you understand the magnitude of a crushing defeat such as that? 110 points in one single game, with 5 minute quarters? It’s almost unheard of! After that game, well after I grabbed my disposable camera to snap a picture of the end game screen, I knew that I would love this game forever and I would be a force to be reckoned with throughout the test of time. Oh how wrong I was.

A few years after I handed out that crushing defeat, I felt myself losing my touch. My Hail Mary’s weren’t connecting with precision like they used to, my running backs weren’t putting up 300 yard games anymore. I was concerned, but not too worried; that is, until the unthinkable happened. My little cousin, who is 6 years my junior stepped up to the plate one year and beat me. Not only did he beat me, he Chris Brown’d me (okay bad joke), seriously though, my ego was black and blue after getting slaughtered by this young buck. I was so down and out after the defeat that I engaged in an offense that is all too telling of an aging Madden player. I broke down and bought a strategy guide. I know, I know, please resist the urge to throw rocks and stones at me. I saw it as my only way to reclaim greatness and sit upon the Madden throne once again. It was akin to a washed up boxer who uses steroids to boost his abilities in the ring. The sad thing is that it didn’t help me at all. I continued to get worse as the number behind the Madden name climbed higher

My last season of Madden could be compared to Iverson’s last season in the NBA. As a washed up player, I was so excited when I won my first game that I nearly cried. Like Iverson however, those tears of joy were short lived. Half way through the season, I was getting beat so bad that I was afraid John Madden himself was going to come to my house and take my game away from me. So you see, here is my dilemma, I love the Madden series, I’ve been a faithful fan for 15 plus years; however, as I grow older and the games become more complex, my skill level drops drastically. So what do I do? Shall I retire, call it quits, and hand in my sticks? Or do I tough it out and continue to be the old guy on the field constantly getting outshined by the young bucks? I’m not sure which answer is best for me. For now, I’m considering myself the Brett Farve of Madden. I’m the old guy that knows he’s washed up and should throw in the towel, but loves the game so much that he can’t bring himself to do it. Maybe this will be my breakout year and I’ll shock the world, or maybe I’ll just walk away from it all while I still can. Only time will tell, but seeing as how today IS Madden Day, I only have a few hours left to decide. Until I do, the fans (I mean readers) are just left guessing.