Happy Madden Day!

Today is one of my favorite days of the year, the day that Madden comes out. My best day of the year list probably goes:

1. Opening day of March Madness
2. Thanksgiving
3. Selection Sunday
4. April 16th
5. National Championship Game/Baseball Opening Day
6. Madden Day
7. Christmas Eve


When I was a kid, my mom HATED Madden Day, because she knew I would be spending a minimum of 12 consecutive hours in front of the TV, regardless of how nice it was outside. My mom, probably still to this day, harbors an intense dislike of video games, brought on almost entirely by my love for them. She was convinced that spending hours zoned out in front of the TV was bad for me, and I would continually argue with her about it. For one, I don't think it's bad for you, as long as you have friends and stay active and whatnot. And two, if you ever have watched me play, I'm far from zoned out while I'm playing. To put it bluntly, I'm a fucking spaz. One time when I was 14 we were having our usual go-round about how she hates video games. I pointed at her and, completely serious, yelled "You don't talk about Nintendo 64 that way!" That, sadly, is a true story, I think Bergman might have been there for that one.

It's not like video games stunted me socially or anything; I have plenty of friends and am a reasonably well-functioning member of society. But I'll admit, it's a delicate line that I straddle. There have been countless occasions where I've been late to parties or get-togethers because I had to "finish my game." There was a party last summer where MyShawn and I were about 3 hours late because we couldn't walk away from our huge winning streak with Golden State in NBA Jam.

I am fairly convinced that my unborn children will outgrow video games before I do. I have no idea how to build things, or fix things, nor do I possess the working knowledge needed to alert me if something is broken and needs to be fixed. While Brother was in the garage with my dad learning how to change the oil in a car, I was inside trying to bat .500 for an entire season with Julio Franco. When they were camping and hunting, I was pulling all-nighters and simulating 17 seasons in Tecmo Super Bowl.

So maybe Mom had a point. Oh well. It's not going to stop me from playing Madden tonight from approximately 5:15 pm until I go to bed. Well, maybe more like 6 p.m.....I better take my car in to the shop to get the oil changed.