Spring Break
Interactive Madden Tournament hits big with university gamers
Issue date: 11/14/08 Section: Entertainment
11/14/08 - Until Wednesday night my only exposure to a Madden tournament of any kind had been through the reality show "Madden Nation" on ESPN. The show's representation of Madden tournaments was full of obnoxious levels of trash talking, people who take the games too seriously and players whose only real skills involved exploiting the various glitches in the game.
Going into Wednesday's Madden Tournament at the Memorial Union Ballroom, I was hopeful that the show's portrayal was inaccurate- and thankfully it was.
The tournament had a relaxed party-like atmosphere and there were a few other activites going on for entertainment besides the games of Madden. There were turntables open for anyone to try their hand at being a DJ and microphones available for freestyling.
These aspects were likely what caused there to be a surprising amount of people in attendance- including people who weren't playing in the tourney, and the eliminated players who stayed to see the end of tourney.
The games themselves were intense, but none of the participants felt the need to scream in their opponents' faces or berate the other players with constant trash talk like their "Madden Nation" counterparts. There was trash talk (which is to be expected at any videogame tournament) but it was more of the good-natured variety.
The majority of the games featured only a handful of teams, typically the top-ranked one in the game, like the Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys. The Minnesota Vikings were another popular choice, mainly because of their solid defense and top-rated runningback, Adrian Peterson.
However, some players chose surprising teams, like the mid-ranked Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers, and one player chose the lowly Oakland Raiders, one of the worst rated teams in the game.
FEDEA is a URI gaming and entertainment club which hosted the event. According to both the club's President Wayne Montague and Vice President Ronald Bickham, this is the group's biggest event of the year.
The tournament had a large single elimination bracket of 44 participants. The tournament progressed quickly because of the eight televisions to play on. Additionally, the games were played using three-minute quarters and with a 21-point mercy rule.
The winner of the tournament, Brenton Medieros, a 20 year-old URI student, received a $250 Best Buy gift card and a set of headphones.
The gift card was paid for by the car company Scion, which sponsored the event. Bickham explained the company's involvement by saying that Scion was at the URI Block Party and "were looking to get on campuses."
In addition to the prizes given to the winners of the tournament, there were also raffles giving away headphones, a Scion gift bag and gift certificates to various restaurants located in the Kingston Emporium.
Going into Wednesday's Madden Tournament at the Memorial Union Ballroom, I was hopeful that the show's portrayal was inaccurate- and thankfully it was.
The tournament had a relaxed party-like atmosphere and there were a few other activites going on for entertainment besides the games of Madden. There were turntables open for anyone to try their hand at being a DJ and microphones available for freestyling.
These aspects were likely what caused there to be a surprising amount of people in attendance- including people who weren't playing in the tourney, and the eliminated players who stayed to see the end of tourney.
The games themselves were intense, but none of the participants felt the need to scream in their opponents' faces or berate the other players with constant trash talk like their "Madden Nation" counterparts. There was trash talk (which is to be expected at any videogame tournament) but it was more of the good-natured variety.
The majority of the games featured only a handful of teams, typically the top-ranked one in the game, like the Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys. The Minnesota Vikings were another popular choice, mainly because of their solid defense and top-rated runningback, Adrian Peterson.
However, some players chose surprising teams, like the mid-ranked Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers, and one player chose the lowly Oakland Raiders, one of the worst rated teams in the game.
FEDEA is a URI gaming and entertainment club which hosted the event. According to both the club's President Wayne Montague and Vice President Ronald Bickham, this is the group's biggest event of the year.
The tournament had a large single elimination bracket of 44 participants. The tournament progressed quickly because of the eight televisions to play on. Additionally, the games were played using three-minute quarters and with a 21-point mercy rule.
The winner of the tournament, Brenton Medieros, a 20 year-old URI student, received a $250 Best Buy gift card and a set of headphones.
The gift card was paid for by the car company Scion, which sponsored the event. Bickham explained the company's involvement by saying that Scion was at the URI Block Party and "were looking to get on campuses."
In addition to the prizes given to the winners of the tournament, there were also raffles giving away headphones, a Scion gift bag and gift certificates to various restaurants located in the Kingston Emporium.
