 right and early Saturday morning Electronic Arts kicked off the 2004 EA Sports Madden Challenge in our backyard in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the home of the Minnesota Vikings. So, instead of going to work on other things I was really supposed to do, I pounded down a few coffees and headed down to the Metrodome to get a first hand look at the first of a long line of Madden Tournaments.
When I arrived, there seemed to be quite a few eager contestants waiting to get their game on. There were at least 150 contestants patiently waiting to play at 9:30 in the morning, for which any gamer, it’s just way too early to play anything outside of counting sheep.
The place inside was rather packed, with thumping tunes, and Madden players everywhere waiting for the thrill of victory, or the agony of defeat. Or some snot nosed kid laughing at you as he sacked your QB’s butt 20-yards back.
I was planning on playing, but after witnessing a 13-year-old kick the crap out of a 30-year-old contestant, I decided to grip my grab bag, put my tail between my legs, and make a run for it. But before I did, I nabbed Jay Kennedy, the 2004 EA Sports Madden Challenge Ambassador, and asked him a few questions about Saturday’s event.
Game Informer: How many people are you expecting today at your kick off event in Minneapolis?
Kennedy: Well, what we can have is a maximum of 512 competitors; we’re probably going to get close to that today. We may hit 512. We have had a lot of people register online ahead of time and then we do walk-up registration. So we’ve got almost all our online people registered now, and now we’re registering our walk-ups. Which this year we’re doing a raffle. The last two years we had people sleeping out on the sidewalks over night. So this year we just decided to make it fair for everybody and do a raffle in the morning.
GI: Looks like you dragged a lot of people out of bed at 9:30 in the morning. What else do you have out here?
Kennedy: We dragged a whole lot of hungover people out today. We also got other EA games in here like the new Tiger Woods game, NHL 2005, NASCAR 2005, and FIFA, and later on in the tour we’ll have NBA Live 2005. All the competitors get T-shirts, and some laminates, which are kind of collectables. We’ve got jerseys and games to give away, we’ve got autographed stuff to give away. We’ve got other schwag to give away as well. I believe we have a pair of Vikings tickets to give away as well. And of course, the winner gets to go to Vegas for three days on EA and compete for $50,000.
GI: $50,000 isn’t too bad for doing well in a football game.
Kennedy: Especially for something you love to do anyways. These people are dedicated Madden gamers and you know So getting out here and getting to compete is pretty cool.
GI: So how does the whole tournament break down here, and will this be the same way it breaks down in other cities?
Kennedy: We have 512 spots, it’s single elimination, and in order to get all the way to the top and in order to get all the way through this tournament you’ll have to win nine times in a row, which is pretty brutal. Especially since you’re on your feet all day and it’s loud and people are trash talking, you know? It can get to be a headache, I guess. You have to be determined. People have to come into this and be ready to spend all day out here and be focused. If you’re not, you’ll go home. Especially with this years game, with the ability to unleash the D. It’s a lot different than last year’s game. Last year’s tournament you had a lot of 50-60 scores. This year you’re going to see people winning 3-0. It’s all about defense this year with the hit stick. It’s not just going to be people dropping back 20-yards and throwing a 30 yard bomb down field. It’s going to be a lot more intense.
GI: So what are the settings? Is it just PS2? Certain amount of time for quarters or anything like that?
Kennedy: It’s just PS2. Four minute quarters, and on All-Madden which is the highest setting it can go on, and we turn off certain things. We turn off the auto-pass assist off, and auto-strafe off. It’s a lot more manual this year, so you have to do more yourself which is good, I think. You can pick any team you want as long as it’s a current team. The rosters cut off on June 30th, so Ricky Williams is still in the game – and Eddie George is still on the Titans, and Tim Brown is still a Raider. You can’t use any of the classic teams. No memory cards or anything like that. We set every thing up ahead of time. Other than that, people have 2 minutes to set up their audibles, offensive and defensive, and then you go from there.
GI: Who would you play with?
Kennedy: Patriots, man. I’m from Boston,.man.
GI: Oh, I’m sorry.
Kennedy: You’re sorry, why?
GI: Oh, I’m a Packer fan, yet I shouldn’t say anything about that too loud around here in Minneapolis, or I’ll get my ass kicked. They’re still a little bitter about what happened with Arizona last year.
Kennedy: Oh, the Packers are a good team. I don’t just play with the Patriots because I’m from Boston, but it’s because they’re loaded. You’ll see a lot of people play with the Patriots, especially with their defense. A lot of people like to run a lot of cover twos, and because of man coverage you can rely on the AI of the game a bit more. I think a lot of people will use the Patriots. Another important thing is this game is a good pass rush. I think you’ll see a lot of people getting some sacks today.
GI: What else do you have for contestants this year?
Kennedy: We have this guy here named D-Train, who’s being sponsored by Reebok. If you beat D-Train you win $1,000 right on the spot - that’s how good he is. The contest isn’t setup for this stop but should be ready by the time we hit Chicago.
GI: So now, for example, for me today, if I’m going in and going to play. Or if I’m reading this article from somewhere else and going to join the tour later on, do you have any tips?
Kennedy: If you haven’t gotten a ton of practice in, just be safe. Don’t try to do anything crazy, because as I said there’s a lot more turnovers in this game. Run the ball, and kick some field goals. Don’t take any chances at all, and just really concentrate on your defense. No one is going to be putting up 30 points today. It’s just not going to happen.
GI: Anyone that you’ve met here today that might be a favorite?
Kennedy: You know, I think it’s hard to say. I mean, in years past I think you’ve had favorites, this game is so different, I think it’s wide open. I don’t think anyone could be an overall favorite over anyone else. I’m sure you have 10 or 12 guys that are the class of this group, but no favorites.
GI: Anyone ever get to out of hand at one of these? The trash talking ever get a little to tough?
Kennedy: I don’t think that’s ever happened. I think that people are respectful of one another. It gets really intense, but at the end of the day it’s just a game. I mean, we encourage the trash talking (laughs), but it’s healthy. It’s good for the competition. It’s fun for everyone watching, but no, people don’t really get out of hand.
GI: So even if someone wasn’t a hardcore Madden gamer, why would you suggest they should come out to this event?
Kennedy: Well there’s a lot of great people here playing games. Plus you get a Best Buy bag full of great stuff from Champs Sports and Reebok. In general it’s a great time. You get to play the new Madden, as well as other new EA games before they’re out in stores. We’ve got a live DJ Out here, DJ Doug Fu from San Francisco. We’re having raffles, lots of free stuff. It’ll be just a fun day.
The final statistics for the Minneapolis kick-off event have arrived, and the Minneapolis-leg winner, and the contestant that’s going to Las Vegas to compete in the in finals was Kyle Cooper from Cinncinatti, Ohio, who’s Atlanta Falcons demolished the Buffalo Bills, 21-0. There were 420 total competitors, and approximately 2500 people attended the event.
If you’re interested in attending one of the upcoming events, you can pre-register at www.maddenchallenge.com for a fee of $10, or you can register at the event for free.
Here’s an list of the upcoming stops on the 2004 EA Sports Madden Challenge Tour:
Saturday, August 21 Chicago Navy Pier GrandBallroom
Sunday, August 22 Indianapolis Castleton Square
Saturday, August 28 Detroit Great Lakes Crossing
Sunday, August 29 Cleveland Cleveland Browns Stadium
Saturday, September 4 Cincinnati Great American Ballpark
Sunday, September 5 Pittsburgh Heinz Field
Saturday, September 11 Buffalo Walden Galleria Mall
Sunday, September 12 Boston Gillette Stadium
Friday-Saturday, September 17-18 New York South Street Seaport
Sunday, September 19 Philadelphia Gallery at Market East
Saturday, September 25 Washington DC Union Station
Sunday, September 26 Charlotte Concord Mills
Saturday, October 2 Atlanta Lenox Square
Sunday, October 3 Jacksonville The Avenues
Saturday, October 9 Miami Bayside Marketplace
Sunday, October 10 Tampa Raymond James Stadium
Saturday, October 16 Nashville Opry Mills
Sunday, October 17 St. Louis Union Station
Saturday, October 23 New Orleans Riverwalk Marketplace
Sunday, October 24 Houston Houston Galleria
Saturday, October 30 Dallas Valley View Center
Sunday, October 31 San Antonio The River Walk
Friday-Saturday, November 5-6 Kansas City Westport
Sunday, November 7 Denver Cherry Creek Shopping Center
Saturday, November 13 Phoenix McDuffy’s in Downtown Tempe
Sunday, November 14 Las Vegas Fashion Show
Saturday, November 20 San Diego Mission Valley
Sunday, November 21 Los Angeles Third Street Promenade
Friday-Saturday, November 26-27 Seattle Qwest Field
Sunday, November 28 San Francisco SBC Park
Saturday, December 11 (Finals) Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Hotel
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