The Big Picture: Maddening

[Eclectic Dreck]

I respectfully disagree.

A few notes before I elaborate: I don't care about football. I don't care about sports. I think what Vick did was a crime worthy of punishment. But what does that crime have to do with football?

The man's placement on a cover is nothing more than a recognition of his popularity. If the people who vote for this nonsense want this ass bag on the cover of the latest edition of Madden, why should I care? Voting against him is the very limit of what I might be willing to do in this case and, quite honestly, I don't even intend to put in that effort. Indeed, my condemnation against the man is so weak that I'm surprised I sat through a video telling me he ought not appear on the cover.

Were it left to me, I wouldn't have put him in the running but they did. If the people choose to ignore his past misdeeds on account of having a good season, then they deserve to own a rip off of a product with is likeness plastered upon it. At least one group of villains is being punished in this case, even if it's only through their wallets, and that's better than we usually see.

 

[Vrach]

Just an idea Bob, but why don't you try your hand at interacting with 4chan if you care enough about this issue?

4chan:
- Love animals
- Hate animal abuse and especially abusers
- Are as powerful and organized an internet voting force as you can get

Anyone around here frequents 4chan? If you do, could you raise this issue there? I'm fairly certain they'd be interested in helping

 

[kara_bulut]

Someone should just go and hack the living hell out of that voting site.

Or someone who knows how dynamic IP's work vote another guy.

 

[Phellix]

don't care if they want to put a monkey on the cover of the game ... neither do i care about animals ... i even dont buy Madden ... download it from torrents ... probably won't play anyway!

 

[FoolKiller]

Well apparently, killing dogs is acceptable and killing people is not according to EA. Glad to know that EA has a line they aren't willing to cross. Just wish it had higher standards.

 

[Vault Citizen]

I have no problem with Vick being on the cover of this game. Yes what he did as a person was evil but that has nothing to do with his career as a professional athlete. All that is required to be on the cover of the game is that you are an American football player who is selected and voted for, what you get up to in your personal time is irrelevant in regards to that.

 

[GeorgW]

The episode was nice and all, but as a non-american I was completely lost. Please don't do many episodes completely focused on a single country's culture. Not just the US, any one country. If you'd have done an episode about real football (soccer), which is more international, I would have liked it more, even though I've watched a grand total of 1 football (again, soccer) game. A quick summation doesn't help if you don't know the culture around it.

 

[RowdyRodimus]

Maybe EA will not listen to Bob, but they do listen to customers. Write them a letter, and tell them how you feel about them and their game. If they are afraid that enough people will not buy it if they put him on the cover, they will not put him on the cover. They want to make money, and anything that will stop them from doing that will be avoided entirely.

If he does get on the cover (which I doubt he will) I propose we all get plain stickers, cut out shapes like comic word balloons and in marker write "I kill dogs for fun and profit" and put them on every copy we see. It might help to sell a few less copies and EA will see how bad they fucked up.

 

[RowdyRodimus]

The episode was nice and all, but as a non-american I was completely lost. Please don't do many episodes completely focused on a single country's culture. Not just the US, any one country. If you'd have done an episode about real football (soccer), which is more international, I would have liked it more, even though I've watched a grand total of 1 football (again, soccer) game. A quick summation doesn't help if you don't know the culture around it.

And I've never watched a soccer game in my life, so we would be back at square one lol

 

[iblis666]

Seriously, guys? NOBODY believes in second chances? I thought that the justice system was designed to rehabilitate people, and Vick seems to be rehabilitated (unlike countless others who have not changed their ways).

He got his second chance - he's still playing professional football and getting paid obscene amounts of money for it. He's been given the opportunity to make a living off his athletic prowess. Anything other than that? He was a millionaire who got his jollies torturing and killing innocent animals. He can die in a damn fire.

yeah thats for sure hell im a dog hater and have no problem killing animals in general but to kill and torture animals for entertainment purposes is just sick id rather watch 2 consenting adults try to kill each other at least they can consent to it

 

[DazBurger]

Thank you Bob! Your voice matters! Wouldn't even had noticed the vote If it weren't for this vid.

Voting now^^

 

[Zydrate]

Sorry Bob, I have to disagree.
I don't like Vick, but yes. They're just dogs. Sorry.

I'm not simply the type of christian who thinks we're above animals or what have you; I simply don't think they deserve this much respect. Until they get thumbs and start building shit, I never will.

Look, I had a cat for the first 15 years of my life. He was there when I was born and he definitely possessed some intelligence and memory. I got that. But I didn't cry when both our cats had to be put down due to sickness and then depression (Yes, our cat suffered depression after the first one died). While I can understand some of the concepts that many animals are just barely a couple steps down from us... They're still just that. Below us.

Sorry.

^ #1 reason I'm an atheist.

@One of the links. I meant building REAL shit. Like buildings and technology. And that cat might have done a thumbs up but see if it can hold (and function) a screwdriver.

Also. I'm an atheist as well. Sorry that I implied otherwise. Bad word useage on my part.

 

[Venereus]

About the international audience, we may not be into American "Football" and their fucked up players, but we do get our share of full priced roster updates every year. This is the sad business model of all mainstream sports games (not just EA), wich survives because it's target audience and consumers are not gamers, but douche-bag fratboys with consoles, who are also to blame for the myth about console players being dumb and for the continued existence of the recent Transformers movies. Damn I hate those motherfuckers.

 

[Zydrate]

Sorry Bob, I have to disagree.
I don't like Vick, but yes. They're just dogs. Sorry.

I'm not simply the type of christian who thinks we're above animals or what have you; I simply don't think they deserve this much respect. Until they get thumbs and start building shit, I never will.

Look, I had a cat for the first 15 years of my life. He was there when I was born and he definitely possessed some intelligence and memory. I got that. But I didn't cry when both our cats had to be put down due to sickness and then depression (Yes, our cat suffered depression after the first one died). While I can understand some of the concepts that many animals are just barely a couple steps down from us... They're still just that. Below us.

Sorry.

So torturing them for fun and profit is ok? I'm not arguing your core point - they are, certainly, less advanced creatures than people - but that doesn't make his behavior any less reprehensible.

Oh, you're not wrong. But everyone who wants to burn Vick at the stake is simply overreacting.

However, I don't see where I implied that killing them (or getting them killed) was at all okay. Not sure where you got that from. I simply do not mourn their loss.

 

[bpm195]

As I've said before, I rank recreational dog fighting as being exactly as evil as recreational hunting and killing animals purely for fashion.

Going to jail for five years is more than adequate punishments for his actions and shunning him is entirely unnecessary. The Madden cover is reserved for the top ball throwers/catchers in the NFL and he's among the people that deserve the honor. Denying him this on the basis of crimes he committed in the past would just demonstrate how difficult it is for a person who goes to prison for a mistake to get their life back.

 

[maninahat]

I think he did his time, and it was up to the judge and jury to decide what time he'd serve. So tough, I'm not going to demand another punishment or banishment or whatever for a guy who has already received his just desserts. That is why we have a court of law in the first place, so members of the public don't dish out retribution against whoever they feel deserves it.

That is one problem with Bob's tirade. The other is what he suggested about the more humanitarian folks deserving "more slack". Ah, so if I get caught mistreating animals, I should deserve more prison time than an MD who commited the same crime? Bullshit!

 

[TheHawkeyedOne]

@ the lapalminator

Horseracers don't force horses to kill each other in a dingy, cardboard box ring. They don't tie up female horses to posts, to be raped repeatedly. And the reason they shoot injured horses is because if a horse breaks it's leg, IT CAN NEVER RUN AGAIN. Letting it live would be almost like torture. A horse is born to run. When not able to run, they become depressed as hell. Dogfighters kill the pitbulls because either 1) they lose, or 2) they're just bored.

 

[maninahat]

About the international audience, we may not be into American "Football" and their fucked up players, but we do get our share of full priced roster updates every year. This is the sad business model of all mainstream sports games (not just EA), wich survives because it's target audience and consumers are not gamers, but douche-bag fratboys with consoles, who are also to blame for the myth about console players being dumb and for the continued existence of the recent Transformers movies. Damn I hate those motherfuckers.

Yes, damn them for having a tastes different from yours! Damn them all to hell!

The fans of the Madden games don't have to buy them if they think they aren't getting enough bang for their buck. The fact that they keep buying implies they're fine with it. We have the same thing here with FIFA (US read: soccer) games, and my brother faithfully got them for about 5 years running. He loved that shit! The minor changes in gameplay and rostering were good enough for him to keep buying the next one.