FOXBORO Mass. – About 1,000 people sat outside Gillette Stadium on Sunday morning waiting for the ushers to open the gates. No, the New England Patriots weren’t playing (in physical form), but these people were waiting for their shot at a trip to Las Vegas and a grand prize of $50 thousand.
The catch? Someone needed to beat the best of the best in the region in the third annual “Madden Challenge.” There would be a 512 person, single elimination tournament inside the Fidelity Investments Clubhouse for more than just video game bragging rights.
Foxboro was just one stop on a 32-city tour across the country to determine who exactly is the best “Madden 2005” player in the land. This is the 15th edition of “Madden,” but that game has grown exponentially more popular over the past few years. It was the top selling video game in the country last year.
“The Madden Challenge” is also continuing to grow in popularity through the years. Tour Manager Neil Gustafson noted that competitors would often follow the Madden bus from stop to stop. “We had one guy last year who followed us around to 13 cities. I don’t know where they get the time or the funding for that,” Gustafson said.
Regardless, the competition was stiff on Sunday. Even though everyone showed up with plans of winning the tournament, the odds were against them.
Matt Durant, a 19-year-old from Adams, Mass., bowed out in the first round. “It was a new experience,” he added. “It was better than playing at home. There was tons of pressure with all of these people watching. It was fun, though.”
One player who lasted further than the first round and stole the show in Foxboro was 13-year-old Peabody native Chris Nihan. He came out of the gates as enthusiastic as anyone there. His opponents, including Mike White, wrote the young stud off due to his age and small stature.
White, 21, was Nihan’s second victim of the day, and he didn’t take the loss too easily. “He honestly beat me, but there must have been a computer error,” White said, referring to a last second touchdown pass that gave Nihan’s Baltimore Ravens the victory.
Nihan was flanked by his mother and sister at the tournament, but they weren’t the only ones cheering for him. At one point during his third round loss, there were as many as 50 people living and dying with every play. He would often turn around to acknowledge the excitement with fist pumps and high-fives. “It was pretty cool,” Nihan said about the crowd support.
Mike “Balla” Brown was the zone referee where Nihan’s games were played. “He was very humorous and extremely mature. He said that if he won the $50 thousand, he would give the money to his mother so she could do her kitchen over,” Brown noted.
Unlike Nihan, however, this was a business trip for some competitors in the “Challenge.” Mike “B-Threat” Vitorino, a 15-year-old New Bedford resident, said he spends two hours a day in Practice Mode in “Madden 2005.” He played each game with his headphones on and showboating in front of his opponents.
Vitorino summed up the way he plays each game. “I go through each defensive player and blitz guys with Playmaker. Ask my last opponent. He felt it,” Vitorino said.
At the end of the day, just like in any tournament, there was only one man left standing. Nathan “Young Gunz” Stanton, 20, was the first person in the three-year history of the event to successfully defend his regional crown. The New York native will be in Las Vegas to play for the national championship December 10-12.
