“Gooood morning sports fans, this is John here, along with my longtime partner in the booth, Pat. Pat, we have quite the match-up here today, truly a clash of the titans.”

“That’s right, John. The two best players in the household, 14-year-old Dennis and his brother Christopher, who is a few years older, are going to face off in a classic Madden 2007 showdown on the XBOX 360.”

“Pat, isn’t that the system with constant skipping disk errors that can sometimes completely ruin a game by giving the disk a long, circular scratch?”

“That’s right again, John. Some games for the XBOX 360 only make it a week before becoming functionally useless. $70 well spent indeed. Now to focus on the game at hand. Dennis has had a string of bad luck; he’s currently on a losing streak that pre-dates our records. However, I expect to see Dennis finally put together that underdog victory here today.”

“Now that’s where I disagree with you, Pat; once a loser, always a loser in my book. Look for Christopher to once again mop the floor with his younger brother. And here go, they are picking their teams.”

“Fans will remember that Dennis has often suggested that they use the ‘random’ feature to allow each of their teams to be picked at random, evidently hoping that one day he will get the Falcons and his brother will get one of NFL-Europe teams that are for some reason available.”

“Unquestionably. And of course, per their agreement, The D&C pact of 2003, ‘No player, neither Dennis, nor Christopher, can willingly choose the Atlanta Falcons as their team (Or whatever team Michael Vick happens to be on in a given year).’ A fair rule, Pat.”

“As we know, however, Christopher has never agreed to use the ‘random’ feature because he could always see right through Dennis’s ill intent. Rather he prefers to let Dennis choose a team first, and then strategically picks a team that would be best suited to dominate that opponent. A strategy Dennis could neither replicate, nor understand. Isn’t that right, John?”

“Without question. Alright, looks like the teams are set. We have a selection of the Indianapolis Colts for Dennis, no shocker there, but we have a pick far out of left field for Christopher, the Detroit Lions. Now, I don’t need to tell you that no matter what year of football this is, the Lions are never a smart pick, Pat.

“Well, John, would you like to switch your pick for today’s winner now? (haha) It appears that after such a long and illustrious win-streak, Christopher is getting pretty cocky, thinking even with a team such as the Lions that he can still beat his younger brother.”

“I’ll keep my pick, Pat, although this should be an interesting game to watch. Dennis is laughing hard as we head to kickoff, apparently unaware of how insulting Christopher’s decision actually is… And we’re off!”

“There’s the ball soaring through the air, landing in the hands of number 88, the kick-return expert for the Detroit Lions. He’s running, easily dodges a tackle and is brought down around the 35. But wait! The ball appears to be loose. Dennis is jumping up and down on the verge of joyous tears as the Colts recover the ball.”

“Now that’s what we call a big mistake, Pat. In the game of football, when you have the ball, you want to make sure that you don’t drop it at any point while the play is still going on.”

“Well said, John.”

End of 1st QTR:

Detroit Lions – 0

Indianapolis Colts – 3

“Well, John, here we are at the end of quarter one, and a surprising turn of events as the perennial underdog Dennis has the lead.”

“That’s right. Dennis appears to be playing a little smarter today, rather than using his typical strategy of always going for it on 4th down, he is actually allowing his punting unit on the field. As we all know, his ‘Touchdown-or-bust’ offense has seldom paid off in the past.”

“Right you are, John. I wonder if he will be able to contain Christopher’s offense in the second quarter as well as he was able to in the first. Christopher starts the second quarter on his own 20.”

(Seconds Later)

Detroit Lions – 7

Indianapolis Colts -3

“Boom! I guess that answers your question, Pat. First play of the quarter is an 80-yard pass for a touchdown, and the extra point is good. Dennis can’t believe, he’s swearing like a sailor at the tiny computerized cornerback on the screen. (haha) They can’t hear you, Dennis!”

“Right again, John! It’s hard to imagine Dennis winning this game if he can’t get a grip on those emotions.”

“He’s passionate, Pat. Passion is an important thing in a game of football, although this might be a little too much passion for a virtual game of football.”

End of Half:

Detroit Lions – 10

Indianapolis Colts – 3

“Well, John, things aren’t looking too terrible for Dennis. It’s halftime and he hasn’t cried or turned off the game just yet, so he must still think he has a chance.”

“Yes, indeed Pat. With just a little luck and a level head, he could be right back in this game.”

“Dennis steps back with Manning, he has all his receivers going deep, a favorite call of Dennis’s that has never paid off, but there’s a first time for everything.”

“He launches the ball, it has a chance… and it’s picked off. Intercepted by the defense. Well, you have to— Wait! The defender fumbled the ball! Scooped up by Colts and he ran it in for a touchdown. Can you believe it!?

“And the extra point should be—what’s this!? It’s a fake… And the two-point conversion is good! Oh my!”

“Now that’s football!”

“It’s hard to imagine any better luck than that. Christopher can’t believe it! He is slamming his fists down on his thighs, letting loose some expletives of his own.”

“I’ve never seen Dennis smile so big, he’s right back in this one! Let’s see how the rest of the quarter goes, Pat.”

“Here’s the kickoff… and Christopher starts off the return— and another fumbled! Dennis scoops it up for a score! Christopher is beside himself!”

“Dennis is now air-thrusting and biting his bottom lip. It’s hard to imagine this is true, but it looks as though this is the best moment of his life! Have you ever seen anything like it, Pat?

“I can’t say that I have, John. But thankfully Dennis has settled down long enough to get the game started up again and is now wearing a look of moronic determination. He thinks he’s gonna win!”

“Boy, Pat, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Christopher this red. If he loses this game, I don’t think he’ll be able to handle it.”

End of 3rd QTR:

Detroit Lions – 10

Indianapolis Colts – 18

“Here we go, Pat. One quarter of football left, and Dennis is entering with the only fourth quarter lead of this years-long rivalry. Can he hang on to it?”

2:00 Left in 4th QTR:

Detroit Lions – 10

Indianapolis Colts – 18

“It’s been a slow quarter so far, with Dennis unable to add to his lead, he punted to Christopher for one last drive. Two minutes left, Chris is out of time-outs. I tell you, Pat, Christopher needs to do something now if he has any chance of winning this and saving himself from the insufferable victory-dance of his little brother.”

“Well, here we go, two quick completions over the middle and Christopher is past midfield. He’s not giving up yet, John!

“And a trick play! A flea-flicker way down field… it’s caught and he’s all alone! He’s at the 20! …the 10! …still at the 10. What the heck is he waiting for, Pat?”

“Well, John, the screen says ‘controller disconnected’, the batteries must have died. And he is tackled at the 10 with the clock running down low. Maybe just enough time for one more play.”

“You see, Pat, that’s why I’m a fan of the old school. With a wire, the controller stays connected until someone disconnects it. You know what I mean?”

“Yes, of course, John. Oh my! Christopher has had it. He threw the controller to the ground in frustration. It has bounced over and smacked the side of the fragile gaming system.”

“The game has cut off! The game has cut off! Can you believe it! They are checking the disk now and… oh no, it’s all scratched up. The whole game is ruined now!

“No one could have predicted this at the beginning of the day, John. There’s sure to be some conflict due to the ending of this one!