The Commissioners State Of The Community Address

To all members, friends, and associates of the Madden World Syndicate I hope this greeting finds you in the best of health, enjoying prosperous living and all the blessings society has to offer.

Another Nationals is upon us. And as the 6th annual Madden Games approaches, the community is again at somewhat of a crossroad, facing changes that are rapidly occurring right before our eyes. Considering the fact that we compete on somewhat of an unstable game, where we have a difficult time agreeing on what the rules should be, in tournaments that are costly to participate in, against a select group of ballers that are dominating the entire tournament circuit....well it doesn't sound like the future is very bright for us hardcore madden enthusiast.

However, we must keep in mind that while we are concerned about the aforementioned issues, the love and desire to compete is still at a high level. Thus, the greater challenges presented to us is to find ways to circumvent the obstacles that sometime impede our opportunities to experience the thrill of fair competitiveness. For that is the heartbeat of what we do and that is what brings us all together. Without the love and desire to compete....to test our game at the highest level, we lose the camaraderie and the development of the friendships that makes the community special.

It's no secret that interest in the game is fading. Some hardcore Madden enthusiast have hung up the sticks out of frustration because of the inability to compete on an unstable game where many ballers do not hold the views of the football purist in the same regard. Constant bickering and disagreement over game play rules and philosophies seem to further divide the community. These factors plus others have lead to a decrease in attendance at major as well as local/regional tournament events.

To keep the community going in the right direction, the membership, particularly our younger and newer members will need to recognize the importance of the understanding the history of the PFL, and the MWS. Not from the standpoint of knowing names and personalities, but more important what these organizations represent and stand for.

It is important to realize that the underlying theme of the PFL and the MWS has been to unite ballers world wide. As a matter of fact, if you are reading this address, consider the number of people you have met through an affiliation with the MWS community. IF that number is low, then you probably have not been around very long. Ask yourself the same question a year from now.

The primary purpose of the MWS as it exist today is to bring ballers together from all across the nation and unite them in an effort to promote standardized play. It was July of 2001 when I met in New Orleans with key figures in the community that helped to shape the MWS as we know it today. This desire arose because of the nature of the phenomena of the National tournament. The lure and mystic that we stumbled upon in Atlanta in 1999 now known as Nationals I, was so powerful, so captivating, that we knew we were on to something special. The only way to build upon that was to unite as competitors. Thus the MWS was birthed!

It was the golden age of Madden, for lack of a better expression. It was a time where tournament entry fees were $50, and pay outs were less than $1000. But it was also a time where the love of the camaraderie was more important than the pot. It was a time where the will to represent oneself as a fierce Madden competitor was more important than how much skrilla was won on the side.

Gambling and wagering in the community is becoming a cancer. Not that gambling has never existed, for there was gambling at Nationals I. But it was much more discreet and considered, "friendly wagering." Today gambling is as much a part of the tournament scene as the round robin is. We have gone from a time where ballers made the trip across the country to test their game, to a time where the ballers travel to make money side betting. It is a big business where the prize purse is secondary to big money match ups. This is eroding at the fabric of what we built. It has been said that "the love of money is the root of all evil." Whenever the desire for the dollar exceeds the traditions of the game, we are jeopardizing the special qualities the community was built upon.

As MWS commissioner, I will continue to take a hard line stance against gambling at our events. Please do not be surprised by the lengths taken to protect the sanctity of our institution against what could only be negative repercussions from an agreement gone bad.

We are also experiencing inflation in the tournament business. Tournament directors are forced to continue to increase the price of admission into tournaments to protect against their investments. There are some that think the tournament business is one of glamour and high financial rewards. For those of you that may believe in this myth, talk to Baller Brown or Ah 2 DaKing, two members of the community that have entered into the business and remain reluctant to continue. It is a very risky business that is dependent upon a transient inconsistent clientele.

If we are going to see the price of entry fees lowered at tournaments, the ballers of the community are going to have to do three things. One, assist the tournament organizers by pre registering for events well in advance. This will help promoters set realistic budgets and create an organized atmosphere for ballers to enjoy. Two, lower the expectation of high priced purses. $1000 for a day of playing Madden is enough for any one. When prize purses come down, the entry fees can be lowered. Three, support the spirit of entrepreneurship and allow these organizers to see a return on their investment of time and effort. No one, including myself will continue to host events where tournament participants continue to make more than the business entities that are holding the events. That is not good business. If a tournament organizer presented this business model to the economics teacher, it would receive a big fat F. Until these three items are addressed we are in jeopardy of losing credible entities in the tournament business such as Brown, Storm, Quick 6, and The Supa.

The advent of online play has change the landscape of the community as well. Just 2-3 years ago, it was unheard of that a teenager would be able to compete with the mature Madden pro. The teen just doesn't understand x's and o's like us seasoned football vets. Well that has changed now dramatically. Whether or not teens understand the x's and o's can still be debated. But what does not need debating is that this has turned into a teenager dominated game. Wily vets such as Winky White, Candyman and Lou Tillery have given way to 18 year old phenoms such as Young Gunz, The Realist and Sandman. There are no more secrets now. Everyone has seen nearly everything the game has to offer. Everyone is breaking the game down more so than ever before. As a result to the dismay of the traditionalist, ballers are pushing the envelope further and further to win. This again has lead to frustration in the community, whether it is the inadequacies of the run and gun offense vs. traditional defenses, or the Mike Vick factor. Some have decided to wait to see what the next version has to offer.

With so many pressing issues, what can we look forward to in this community? Well, I think we have to look at several things. First, what we stand for, what we represent, what we contribute and what gain from being a part of the MWS family.

I have adopted a new motto for the MWS. "Bringing Ballers Together" That's what we have done. Everyone's existence in this community can be traced to The PFL. For example, take the EBC. The EBC was formed at Mega Bowl. Mega Bowl was built by Tha Supa and Fathertime. Those two met through the MWS. The BABC was introduced to the community via the MWS.

The PFL was the first league of its kind to have a website. After seeing the PFL, the MFLA was born in LA based on the structure of the PFL. From the MFLA came the UMF. Other leagues that became a part of the community was the BFL (although they are considered the oldest league with roots back to 1985) the DCFL which the HOB was born from, the NOMB, BAMA, the ASML and the MPL just to name a few. Most of the leagues in existence today can trace their roots back to one of these leagues.

This is what we do. Bring ballers together. Think for a moment of all of the friends and relationships forged through the MWS. When I think of the fact that I can go nearly any where in the nation and have someone to compete against, and in many cases, invite me into their home to stay....that is a beautiful thing that goes beyond whether the guy puts his WR at TE or if he punts on 4th and 17 from his own 10 yard line. Despite the pressing issues that we debate or disagree on, we must not lose sight of this. We should recognize that friendship is essential to the soul. This is what we represent.

Two, we must get back to our roots. This community was built on playing the game for the love of the game....not for the love of the money. If we take care of the former, the latter will come with time. As MWS commissioner, I will be making a concerted effort to not only lower entry fees, but I will be pushing for lower prize purses as well. Because the focus on the purse can distort our vision to promote the love of the game.

Three, we have contributed much more than just building a community. We help shape the design of the game each year it comes out. Whether it is the designers of the game reading the MWS message board, or whether it instances where I have had direct correspondence with designers and producers at Tiburon to provide intelligence regarding game glitches and programming errors, the MWS is making a difference in the way the game is being produced. We must also realize that it was the MWS rules that the EA challenge adopted to play its spectacular $50,000 championship in Vegas. And it was your commissioner who has been granted unprecendented access to bring the event to you LIVE each year.

Lastly, we must not overlook the benefits the community offers. New friendships and acquaintances as mentioned above. Exiting opportunities to travel and meet with others that share the same passion for the game. Camaraderie! And if nothing else, a place to hang out a talk Madden and sports in general at the MWS message board. Lets not lose sight of what we have. And lets work together to protect what we have so that it can last well into the future.

I am working harder than ever to secure sponsorship for ALL of our tournaments to help relieve the stress of throwing tournaments, and ease the burdens of high cost for participants. The Regional Championship Series is a vision I have held since after Nationals I. Finally it is coming into fruition. I am hoping it will provide us with a true tournament circuit that can give us the opportunity to compete locally in our regions and provide excitement and suspense leading up to Nationals.

I will also be working harder to get more people involved in the operations of the MWS, more so than ever before. I want to rework our membership program so that all members receive membership cards and commissioners receive membership kits with all of the rules and benefits pertinent to membership. I will be looking for volunteers to help administrate the ranking system, to keep it updated frequently. We also plan to offer online match play starting next season as well. Those are just some of the ways I am looking to improve upon what we already have.

I have truly enjoyed being the founder of the Madden Community as we know it today. And I have equally enjoyed serving you as commissioner. The time for me to move on is fast approaching. However, before I tally on, there is still work to be done. So I hope you join in with me, to help continue the great traditions we have established in order that they may last for years to come. If we can keep our traditions alive, and remain steadfast to the what we stand for, the future of the community can shine bright. However, if we forget those fundamental principles, the foundation of the MWS rest upon, then we may fade into the dark sooner than we might think.

Thank you for your support and I hope to see you at a RCS or Nationals VI.

The Swammi

Commissioner MWS