I was thinking about John Madden yesterday, as were many of you, and in particular thinking about how Coach Madden brought the "trenches" of football play to the masses. He was one of the first commentators to stress the importance of line play, a lesson that I took with me to football coaching and to how I construct my team in Madden. But more than that, he celebrated the game in a way that was so earnest, so true, and so engaging. He talked about how much football gave to him, but I think it was the game of football that was lucky to have John Madden.
As for video games, well, his requirement that Electronic Arts make his football game 11 on 11 is the foundation of the game we all play. Without that stubborn insistence, we could all be throwing the ball around in a 7 on 7 practice simulator. He wanted his football game to look and feel like real football. We all know some ways in which EA has fallen short of Coach Madden's ideals over the years (particularly when it comes to line play), but I honestly believe many of those same ideals are in place with people who work with the game. Maybe not the executives, and maybe not the business folks, but guys like Kraelo and Jake Stein and RG all love the game, they all revered Coach Madden, and they are trying to do well by the community.
Madden Ultimate Team, as flawed as it is, gives us the opportunity to build a team blended between current stalwarts and all-time legends. The legend roster has increased over the years, and we have so many cool ways to put together a squad. I love that part of MUT, and I always will. I think Coach Madden would love it if he were inclined to play. The pay-to-play aspect of MUT is part of the capitalistic society in which we live, and I can deal with it, but it would be great if EA does more to allow the community to grind for a high-end team instead of paying money.
Anyway, let's all raise a toast to the king of football video games. We don't say we're going to play a football video game. What do we say? We're playing Madden. Now is the time to remember why. Rest In Peace, big guy. I hope you get a huge "BOOM!" in the afterlife...
