Introducing the 2013 Stampede Blue Madden League!

With the Colts regular season opener less than a week away, it’s finally time to introduce a new community feature that should have all of you Madden ballers pumped up:

THE STAMPEDE BLUE MADDEN LEAGUE!

That’s right, friends - starting this year, Stampede Blue will be entering the detailed virtual world of Madden for the Xbox 360 (sorry, Playstation’ers)!

How, you ask? Starting now, we will be hosting a Madden 25 league, with you as the owner, directing one of the NFL’s 32 teams through a season-long grind to hoist the Lombardi.

To enter, you must be familiar with Madden 25’s Connected Careers mode and, of course, willing to abide by some very simple, yet sturdy simulation favorable rules.

Here are a few of the basic ground rules for the 2013 Stampede Blue Madden League (SBML):

• You will be required to play one game per week (starting with Week 4)
• All-Madden AI settings will be used with six minute quarters
• Trade stacking, glitching and unrealistic play (i.e. going for it on your own 10 in the second quarter, cutting your best player etc.) will not be tolerated – if you suspect/witness any of the following, you are to immediately contact the commissioner
• This is an owner only league, as ownership of a team allows for full control of your selected team
• Selecting teams will come on a first-come-first-serve basis
• After Week 3, you can play your opponent on any day or time of the week, as long as every game for that specific week is completed by the advance deadline of Sunday at 11:55 PM EST
• Any games not completed by the weekly deadline will be automatically simulated (one warning simulation is allowed, while the second will result in an automatic disqualification from the league)
• Owners will be responsible for contacting their weekly opponent and scheduling their game
• If your opponent cannot be reached after multiple attempts, you may ask for permission to play your weekly game against the CPU

Please know that I understand and can relate to the fact that we all have busy lives and that this league is ultimately meant to be purely for fun. However, the weekly schedule needs to be upheld, and for your convenience, you will have seven days during to play one game of four, six minute quarters. You will be expected to maintain your team, roster and other owner duties.

League updates will come from the Twitter of yours truly, @stewblake22, and will always include the hashtag #SBML.

So enough with the rules stuff, right? Will there be prizes?

You bet!

In fact, the Madden baller beastly enough to call themselves a Super Bowl champion at the conclusion of the 2013 season will receive $30 cash and a special post on Stampede Blue. An undetermined prize will also be given out for the league MVP.

Furthermore, if enough competitors are interested in contributing at least $3 to a pot, this will also be awarded to the Super Bowl champion/MVP.

So, do you want in?

If so, the rest is gravy. All that is required of you is, well, fantastic sportsmanship (please don’t take a spot away from someone else if you’re not willing to compete every week), some kind of Madden skills, complying with the league rules and, of course, losing to me!

To join the league, please send an email to leftysmoke@att.net with the subject SBML JOIN REQUEST - 'YOUR NAME' and the following information:

• Xbox Live username
• Stampede Blue username
• Twitter handle (if applicable)
• Whether or not you’d like to contribute $3 to a pot

When the first 31 entries are received, an acceptance email with the league name and password will be sent. You will also receive a link to join the SBML group on the GroupMe app. From there, you will be able to immediately join the league, select your team, and begin preparing for your first preseason game.

Please note: If we have more than 31 requests, your entry will be saved for replacement/disqualification purposes.

The first two weeks of the league will be advanced by the commissioner under the following schedule if enough entries are received by Friday:

• Sunday, September 8th at 11:55 PM EST – Week 3 of the preseason (first two weeks are simmed)
• Wednesday, September 11th 11:55 PM – Week 4
• Sunday, September 15th at 11:55 PM – Week 1 of the regular season
• Wednesday, September 18th at 11:55 – Week 2
• Sunday, September 22nd at 11:55 – Week 3

After this schedule is completed, one game per week (starting with Week 4) will be played with the league advancing every Sunday at 11:55 PM. This will get us caught up with the actual NFL schedule.

For those of you with questions or recommendations, please feel free to post them in the comments section or you can always contact me via Twitter (@stewblake22), email (blake.348@osu.edu) or Xbox Live (leftysmoke).

Thanks in advance to all of you who enter this year’s SBML, and we certainly hope this is a fantastic new experience for our participating community members.

As with anything new, there will be some hiccups and mistakes. It’s fine. Let’s just try to limit them.

Good luck!

P.S. I’m hoisting the Lombardi this year!