Alabama Bandwagon - dave3569's Blog

dave3569's Blog

Alabama Bandwagon

Posted on July 19, 2010 at 11:18 AM.

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Alabama is this years bandwagon team on, NCAA 11, it seems everyone and their brother too, want to be Alabama when it comes to online ranked matches. For the guys like me, who have been a loyal fan of, The Crimson Tide, for the better part of 20 years, it puts us in a difficult position.

I have almost given up trying to find a ranked match online. First, I am going to use Alabama. Alabama is my team! I have used them every year in NCAA Football, even when we wasn�t the juggernaut we are now. I took my whippings from the likes of Florida, USC, Texas, Ohio State, and Oklahoma when they were the bandwagon teams ( I won some too!). I paid my dues. I suffered through the Dubose & Shula eras. I watched in agony as Alabama�s scholarships were taken away, and our program set back 5 years with the embarrassment of being labeled a cheater. I used Bama when EA gave them no respect. Alabama deserves its respect now, and EA obliged.

Second, I can�t force myself to play as a different team. I have gotten to the point now, that if I am paired with an opponent that is using Alabama, I will just go ahead and hit ready in the hopes I can get a Crimson & White game going on. I won the last Crimson & White game 17-0.

Third...Quitters. Quitters suck. Last night I actually got a game. It was Bama vs Arkansas! Now, this guy was good. Or, I suppose he thought he was good. He had a little nano blitz that he like to run. It did not really effect my game plan, we pounded the run, setup the play action, and went 4 wide all on the same drive, with the end result, TD BAMA!

Ok, guy comes out 5 wide. I figure ok, let�s see what hes got. He runs no-huddle. I�m thinking to myself, nice, we got a ball game here. Same play, over and over and over. Three times he goes to the post route over the middle. So what do I do? I adjust...shocking.... isn�t it?

Next play, Interception, Jerrell Harris. Guy didn�t once try and change his tactics. I come out on offense. I�m thinking, hey Ingram had the bulk of the carries last possession, lets give the ball to Trent, and let Ingram sit this first play out. So, I hand the ball off on an outside run, because the guy still likes to nano blitz the middle, and I get great blocking, with one man to beat......juke...spin...he...could...go...all....t he...way! TD Richardson! At this point it�s 14-0 and I�m feeling pretty good.

Arkansas comes back out, 5 wide, and runs the same freaking play....end result...interception...guy quits...and I have to stick him with a DNF and gain nothing for the trouble. No win, quitter gets the loss. Which is fine with me, he deserved it. I don�t play ranked games with the desire to try and be at the top of the leader boards, I play ranked because it is where you get your stats tracked, records recorded, and generally good competition. I just wish people would take their loss like men. To many times this is not the case, and since our overlords at EA decided they didn�t want to award people wins anymore if the game doesn�t go past mid second quarter or halftime, wherever the cutoff is, more and more people just quit.

I�m by no means the worlds greatest at NCAA Football, but I do understand how to play the game and deploy real world schemes that work to my advantage. I know Alabama's personnel inside and out, and I am comfortable in my base 3-4, Cover 1 set.

I�m only 8-2 online ranked. I�m actually undefeated in unranked matches, which is where I play mostly. I have used a few teams in unranked just for the hell of it. North Carolina defense is straight nasty from the 4-3. VT can pound the ball with the best of them. Georgia has a good run game and a stingy defense. TCU is an exciting team to use with a nasty 4-2-5.

I find that the people that play unranked matches give you a better game and use their favorite teams. Most, don�t care about wins & losses, they just like to play the game, with their favorite team, much like me. And if they quit, I can at least continue my game out for the highlights and post game analysis.

Most the games I play are against Ohio State & Florida, with the occasional top 10 team mixed in, and I think that is how it should be. OState & FL, these teams always play me tough. Great brain exercise playing someone that uses either of those two teams with a variety in offense. I�m hoping people realize that while Alabama is a juggernaut, there are teams out there that match up well with them. Maybe ranked game play will improve in the near future. I enjoy ranked matches for the stat tracking and online archive it offers, so hopefully the band wagoners hop off.

Roll Tide!!

Comments

# 1 videlsports @ Jul 19

I feel ya man. It's frustrating to a big point. It's just a game no big deal. I understand and I will give you a good online ranked match win lose or draw. GT: videlsports. PS. I LOVE CONFERENCE GAMES, SO IF YOU ARE ALABAMA I'LL USE SOMEONE FROM THE SEC OR PENN ST.