I think there are some of us here who have never played a console game online and just try to tell themselves they don't need it.
Online play is extremely fun. And its true, I don't think I could buy a sports game anymore that wasn't online. One thing, I'd probably play an offline sports game for about a month then want to get rid of it. With online sport games, I probably play those things for about 6 - 8 months. And of course there are cheaters online, but the reward of playing a great game with someone is just too good to pass up. And I don't know many people that have "friends" that will come over at 12 at night to play Madden. I wouldn't call those people friends, they are more like slaves.
It's kinda like when you go from a Ford to a BMW. Sure you enjoyed that Ford, but when you get the BMW, you don't drive the Ford that much anymore.