Online Adventures

First things first, Happy Thanksgiving!

To those of you that don't know (which is probably everybody but TAS and my girlfriend), playing NCAA Football 2007 online has become one of my favorite hobbies (if you play, add me, my user name is SIRnittany...I know, very original). It's really neat...Brad Nessler even wished me a Happy Thanksgiving tonight as I started up a game. Playing online is a completely different experience than playing the computer in any capacity and in my opinion, is a ton more fun. Not only is it cooler knowing that you're actually playing another human, but the games can get very interesting (in ways that the computer wouldn't let happen) and the chats with opponents can vary from annoying to friendly to downright weird. That being said, I'll get into some of my more fun and interesting stories from online gaming...

When you play the computer, the one thing it actually does fairly well is ball control and running out the clock if it's winning. That isn't always the case when you're playing another person as some people tend to get arrogant.

Example #1: I was playing this kid (I was WVU, he was Auburn) and he had a 3 point lead with less than a minute to go and a first down (and I had no timeouts). All he had to do was sit on it and he won. Did he? No. He decides to be a smart-ass and throws for a 40 yard TD to go up 20-10. While I was thoroughly annoyed at what seemed to be an attempt to run up the score, I realized this also meant I actually had a shot at a comeback. Well, long story short, I get a fast TD, recover an onsides kick, and now I have the ball with 15 seconds left on his 40. All I have to do is throw a quick out and I can tie it with a FG (WVU's kicker is pretty good). Nope. I decide to be a smart-ass, and throw a 40 yard TD pass to win the game as time expires. Sucker.

Example #2: I was WVU @ Texas. The person I was playing had the ball with 40 seconds left on my 20 (again, I had no timeouts). We were tied and all he had to do was sit on it and kick a FG as time expired. Of course he didn't, and threw for a TD with 20 seconds left. I get the kickoff, throw back to back 40 yard passes...tie game. I ended up losing in triple-OT (because of a lame fumble) but the point stands...people online really don't know how to take a win when its handed to them. (Btw...I smashed him 44-14 in a rematch...he deserved it)

When you play online, you also run the risk of facing that one guy that whines and moans because he feels like you're running the same play all the time. He'll relentlessly harass you with chat messages like "thats cheap" and "ur lame." Well, "lol" at those people because odds are you are kicking his or her ass if they are saying such things.

Example #1: Currently, I have a level 3 ranking online which is decent and I was playing this kid with a level 14 ranking which is pretty darn good. I ended up thoroughly whipping him (41-13) with WVU through the typical option, run attack and some shots down the field. Of course, he had the need to tell me that I was doing HB Direct too much (which I had only run a couple times but he claimed to be annoyed that I was running it on third down) and that I was taking too many shots down the field. Well smart guy, for one, you should almost always have a CB spy when taking on WVU to contain Slaton and White to a degree. And secondly...when you establish a solid running game, that's supposed to open up the passing game down the field. Either way, he couldn't even score so he basically didn't even have the right to really complain. The ironic thing was after that game, I was handed my most humbling loss in a long time, falling to ASU all while throwing 4 INTs (I never knew their TE was a beast...).

Finally, you'll run into that really weird kid/odd situation. The following story was basically my motivation for writing this blog.

Ok, so I'm playing this kid who is using Ohio State. We had struck up somewhat of a nice chat earlier and then got to it. Game started out pretty well, but late in the first, I was beginning to pull away a little and a minute into the second quarter, I was up 21-7. All of a sudden he pauses the game and the following chat takes place:

Him: brb phone
Him: hold on
Me: ok
Pause of about a few minutes or so...
Him: Omg....my aunt just...died
Him: i can't believe it...
Him: she's like...gone!!

Now let's pause here a moment. What the hell am I supposed to do in a situation like that? I'm not gonna lie, that "she's like gone" comment raised my suspicions but who knows, maybe he just didn't know how to express his disbelief. Being the classy individual that I am, I responded with:

Me: Oh geez...are you for real?
Him: Yeah
Him: I can't do this...its too hard
Him: I'm sorry
Me: Sorry man.

At that point, he offered me a friendly quit (nobody gets charged with a win or loss) and that was that as I accepted. This kid is either having a really crappy night or pulled my leg like no other. My guess is he pulls this line with other people (and asks for friendly quits when he's down) because he was 6-2, and he did not play like someone who should have that record. Heck, my record is 33-22 and I was easily beating him down (though I have won 15 of 17).

Either way, I'm still slightly confused/concerned about that whole ordeal but it proved yet another lesson in online gaming: expect the unexpected. You'll never have a computer telling you its relative just died to get out of playing with you. Nonetheless, online gaming is awesome, and if you're not into it already, you should be.