Must Not. . . Play. . . Sports Games!

One result of being out of the boonies for a while is getting a chance to watch sports again. We don't have any TV service out there, and given the number of people sharing the Internet, streaming games isn't viable unless you wait for everyone else to be gone (happens one day every 2 weeks at best), or you're an inconsiderate jerk.

It's mostly been the NFL so far, with a little NBA thrown in (I don't get heavily into basketball until at least January, once Arizona's season is usually done). It's nice; watching games is much more interesting than reading about them online, though it's more tense as well. Reading about a player dropping a key pass isn't nearly as frustrating as seeing it happen in the moment.

One side effect, and it's one I should have expected, is I started feeling that itch to play sports video games again. That comes up every so often. The results aren't going how I'd like, or seeing players I like near the end of their careers makes me nostalgic for them earlier (current example: Josh McCown with the Bears. I still have a certain fondness for him from his Arizona days). Since I have not, as yet, developed powers over reality, I must turn to games to produce the results and scenarios I desire.

I usually manage to suppress the urge. I remind myself that I only really have sports games for my Nintendo 64 now, and most of those don't play in a way that satisfies the urge. The passing is poorly designed, batting is awkward, offensive sets run by the computer are predictable, whatever. At the same time, the few newer sports games I've played seem to be complicated in such a way it takes a lot of the fun out of it. I figured I could split the difference find a Madden game newer than the one I've got (Madden '99), but not too new. Then I remember I'll inevitably get steamed at the computer after it pulls some dodgy stunt to beat me and the game will probably wind up broken like last time.

So I'm holding off for now, mostly. I have an old Ken Griffey Jr. baseball game with a season saved on it I don't even remember starting. Wouldn't be surprised if it's been waiting over a decade. So I've picked up that season, and I'm making a little progress. The game is a little strange because you set the difficulty level, but I'm sure the game adjusts as it goes along. I played a "pennant" once - basically the last month of the season. Initially, I was winning every game by 20 runs or more. By the end, I was having to scratch and claw to score 3 runs. All the groundballs stop making it through the infield, the liners and flies are getting run down. It's strange, but it makes me feel better about stealing lots of bases, and sacrifice bunting runners home even when I'm up 12 runs. I treat it as practice for when the hits stop falling, which with a full season, will probably be around June. Assuming I don't get bored before then.