How did YOUR love for football games begin?

[TheCreep]

Boy oh boy I'm one interactive football fanatic! I remember my first video game football experience with some handheld gizmo with red dots for players.

The upgrade to electronic football sets afterwards was great. We used to buy puddy/clay and model paint to implement superior detail to all players. We'd mold clay over the RBs, OL, LBs, etc for different body types/sizes, refinish with the paint and add wristbands, gloves, facemasks (had to use threading needles for accuracy, lol) the works. Actually explains where my obsession with equipment options started huh. (Can I get my Ion schutt, and fix the facemasks please)

Around the same period, I received my first computer for Christmas. The good ole commodore 64, which introduced me to a new type of football. Straight video game interactive style. Started a relationship that is still going strong to this day.

[4th and inches was my first title. Every team was red and blue, lol, but it also gave me an outlet for my obsessive attention to detail, lol. If you could type it, you could add it to the game. Next came tv sports football developed by cinemaware which, if I'm not mistaken actually housed some of the guys that would go on to help create the 2k franchise. You could tell, the presentation for that time period was astounding. It had the pregame announcer and fictional sponsers. You know the "brought to you by, ???" type of thing before the game started.

Next came the sega genesis and the introduction of Madden Football. Changed the way football titles were played and I've been a fan ever since. Its been a long and fun road. From the first Madden, Joe Montana (with the speak and spell play by play,lol), Gameday, QB club, 2k, you name it I've run through it, lol. There's been some garbage and there's been some gems ya know. Not gonna burn you all out in one sitting. Thats the history.

Hope you enjoyed the read. What about you?

[Antec]

The first football game I remember playing was Madden 64. I would play against my brother and we would use "Stop and go". Basically we would just stop holding the stick forward and the tacklers would end up diving in front of the ball carrier.

[mrjamierocks]

I'm there right beside you playing 4th and Inches, but I think 10 yd fight was the first american football game I played at the arcades,and after watching nfl on tv late at night (eric dickerson somersaulting over a diving defender for a td) I went for the search for an nfl game to have at home on my brand new commodore 64 later to be updated with the disc drive .Mind you being in australia the popularity was minimal ( 1 game a week at midnight), so I searched gaming magazines and found 4th and inches, searching stores around my area produced nothing but a friend of a friend of a friend had the game...a month later I had a copy in my hands...and the rest is history, never been without an nfl game since (still have all copies stashed in storage).
Focusing on tv sports football, remember the passing where you had to hold the button down and aim a little cross to where you wanted the ball to go, timing was crucial and made the completes pass more satisfying...I reckon an updated version of tv sports football would bring tears to the eyes of anyone gaming in the 80's

[falconfansince81]

played this when i was a kid until a got a nintendo and spent every week's allowance renting tecmo bowl.

[johnnyskoods]

Madden 99. I really liked Madden before then but I was young and didn't really know too much about how the league works and stuff. But, then I played Franchise mode for '99 and I just became hooked on playing Madden Franchises. That year is still to date the only year that I finished an entire franchise. It was only 15 seasons back then. Also, you could get fired and then that was it. The franchise was over and you exited to the main menu. I got fired a lot but finally went all the way with the Saints. Mark Fields was so nasty for me.

Ahh, the memories.

[ac-greasy]

4th and inches (Commodor64), Play Action (NES), John Elway QB (arcade), then the holy grail...Tecmo Bowl with real NFL players...then it was Madden with 11 guys and a different button for each reciever...the sky was the limit, I was hooked. I couldn't wait to see what they would come up with next. I would buy nearly every football game every year, I couldn't get enough...then about half way through last gen (PS2) it started fading. And after about 5 years of next gen I'm like meh...I pick up the Madden box off the shelf at GameStop, look at it, then put it back down...same crap....different year...Man I'd like to have that old feeling back, I got little excited about backbreaker but it's still not the same as the old days...

[ac-greasy]

Quote: Originally Posted by falconfansince81

played this when i was a kid until a got a nintendo and spent every week's allowance renting tecmo bowl.

hehe...I had that too...

[Elway7]

Ditto on 4th and Inches! I still play it to this day. C64 is the greatest!