NFL Video Games Evolution

Madden Covers We Deserved

 

What if Dan Marino Had Been Drafted By The Pittsburgh Steelers?

Bradshaw's Heir Apparent

 The 1983 NFL Draft remains one of the most scrutinized "sliding doors" moments in sports history. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, passing on local hero and University of Pittsburgh star Dan Marino was a decision rooted in a specific organizational philosophy and a series of unfortunate assumptions, much of which is discussed in the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary "Elway to Marino."

The argument goes that had the declining Steelers draft Dan Marino, their declining fortunes would have been quickly reversed and the franchise would have collected several new Lombardi trophies under the stable leadership of Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher. The Marino decision is one of the ultimate "Butterfly Effects" because if the Steelers had been smart and taken Marino then possibly the 49ers do not become the team of the decade. 

The key word in that last paragraph is "possibly" because while statistics are what we use to run simulations, numbers can't account for the randomness of life. While our Japanese Sportsmaster Simulation technology and AI can mimic, it cannot predict either luck or chance, thus we use the numbers to sus out what might have been over what could have been...

What if the Cowboys Had Traded for and Drafted Earl Campbell in 1978?

The Dallas Cowboys were pioneers in computer data simulation.

Sportsmaster was the largest civilian computer ever built, and there were some that said it was even bigger than the Pentagon computer that controlled the nation’s defenses. Its master memory banks contained all the data on sports and sports figures that anyone anywhere had ever bothered to put down on paper or film or tape. It was designed to prepare detailed, full-color, whole-cloth simulations, for both standard television wall screens and the new holovision sets. ~ George R.R.Martin

In the relaunch here From the 55 to Gridiron America Radio, one of the things we have wanted to explore more is the subject of sports simulation, just not for American football, but also other sports, hopefully in conjunction with other podcasts here on the Sports History Network. Let's make it clear to the newbie though, simulation sports are not fantasy sports that play in the present. Rather, in simulation sports we play in the past, much like you do with table top games like Strat-o-Matic and APBA, where the real world numbers of past performance matter and dictate what MIGHT have occurred at any projected point in time.

Simulation Football Leagues, Living in the Past, and Learning to Love Football Again

A few years ago I found myself on a plane to my Navy reserve duty and cracked open one of my many football books. Being an uber football nerd from the 1970s I have always loved playing computer football games; however, unless I was playing against someone in the same room, be it on an Odyssey 2, Game Cube, or  Play Station. Sadly, my childhood only saw one instance of me playing a table top football simulation in 1980, that being Sport's Illustrated "Paydirt."

Now mind you, I am involved in fantasy football every year usually, including this year when I got invited into my office's league [very disappointing season for me].  However, as I read Ted Kluck's wonderful book, Past Time, I knew I was really missing out on something special, that being a member of a simulation football league.  In essence, I had been missing out on being a member of not just a league, but a group of people that, like me, love the professional football of yesteryear.

SportsmasterSIM Presents "The Last Super Bowl"

Sports are universally beloved. Geographically, the athletic competitions take on various forms; the NFL, NBA, MLB are strong in America; NHL in Canada; Premier League in Europe; and Cricket in India.

But the now legendary George R. R. Martin wrote about the downfall of them all in “The Last Super Bowl,” a fantastically written short story in February 1975’s issue of Gallery Magazine, a men’s magazine.

The story is actually two tales, as he covers the last Super Bowl which takes place in January 2016 and interjects the depiction of that Super Bowl, between the Green Bay Packers and the Hoboken Jets, and the downfall of real sports. Real sports, in the 2016 of Martin’s fictional world, have been overtaken in popularity by simulated sports.

Who Needs Players? Simulated Games Are the Future of Sports

From the array of Thanksgiving Classic football games to family-style Turkey Bowls and other sports played this holiday, the sports menu hasn’t changed much at all over the years. Yet technology could change everything here … and soon. In fact, it could change the way we play and watch sports altogether.

By Wired Opinion Editor: Sonal Chokshi @smc90

Imagine spending Thanksgiving on the couch, but instead of watching a live game we’re all watching a televised videogame. Sounds incredible. But in South Korea, videogames are already viewed as a spectator sport: They're televised nationally.

Imagine doing this in a real-life arena as well.