We've all had that moment (or moments) where we popped the game in, got lost for hours, and finally reemerged back into the real world with that "WTF did I just do!" feeling. I didn't have too many of those moments in the PS3/360 days, but the PS2 days of NCAA football? Wow. A good chunk of my teenage years are left in some of those games.
My first moment was back in 2001. Got a PS2 for Christmas along with NCAA 2002 marked with the great Chris Weinke. After spending the rest of Christmas day fooling around with the system and Madden, I woke up the next day, at the *** crack of dawn, ran down the basement, and popped in that NCAA disc (which needed to be buffed for 10 minutes to actually work btw). I then proceeded to play the entire first season of a dynasty with the EJ Henderson-led Maryland Terrapins. After winning the ACC and Orange Bowl all in one sitting, I finally snapped back into realty. Walking up the basement steps, still wearing my PJs from the night prior, I noticed the sky had gone dark again and it hit me. I was a junkie. I was hooked.
There was also the time where I spent half of my 10 day South Florida vacation inside a Holiday Inn Express playing NCAA 07 that had just been released as I was on the trip. I played game after game. Not to mention I had to take my PS2 as a carry-on and buy an AV adapter just to get the old tube television to function.
And then there's the whole "mailing your memory card" adventure (hard to remember memory cards were actually a thing) just so you wouldn't have to see HB #2. But that was only the beginning for me. Then I had to edit the equipment of guys, and not just the QB or RB, it usually turned out to be every guy I saw. It got so bad I was taking notes of what guys wore and also inputting changes as games were on-going. It was bad. But you couldn't let anyone see you what you were actually doing for fear that they might think less of you as a person (as if they didn't already). It was a top secret mission each time I did it.
So those are just some of the moments I remember. As I get older, I don't know if its possible for me to have these moments again, but any time I recall them, I can't help but smile. NCAA was an awesome franchise for those handful of years. Hopefully NCAA can get back to that level some day. If not for me, some other kids.
What are your moments?
My first moment was back in 2001. Got a PS2 for Christmas along with NCAA 2002 marked with the great Chris Weinke. After spending the rest of Christmas day fooling around with the system and Madden, I woke up the next day, at the *** crack of dawn, ran down the basement, and popped in that NCAA disc (which needed to be buffed for 10 minutes to actually work btw). I then proceeded to play the entire first season of a dynasty with the EJ Henderson-led Maryland Terrapins. After winning the ACC and Orange Bowl all in one sitting, I finally snapped back into realty. Walking up the basement steps, still wearing my PJs from the night prior, I noticed the sky had gone dark again and it hit me. I was a junkie. I was hooked.
There was also the time where I spent half of my 10 day South Florida vacation inside a Holiday Inn Express playing NCAA 07 that had just been released as I was on the trip. I played game after game. Not to mention I had to take my PS2 as a carry-on and buy an AV adapter just to get the old tube television to function.
And then there's the whole "mailing your memory card" adventure (hard to remember memory cards were actually a thing) just so you wouldn't have to see HB #2. But that was only the beginning for me. Then I had to edit the equipment of guys, and not just the QB or RB, it usually turned out to be every guy I saw. It got so bad I was taking notes of what guys wore and also inputting changes as games were on-going. It was bad. But you couldn't let anyone see you what you were actually doing for fear that they might think less of you as a person (as if they didn't already). It was a top secret mission each time I did it.
So those are just some of the moments I remember. As I get older, I don't know if its possible for me to have these moments again, but any time I recall them, I can't help but smile. NCAA was an awesome franchise for those handful of years. Hopefully NCAA can get back to that level some day. If not for me, some other kids.
What are your moments?
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