It's a slow time of year for the major UF sports.
Football is relatively silent until spring practice starts up in three months.
Softball and baseball are still weeks away from beginning.
I'd be lying if I said I knew much about the women's basketball team besides their record and roster.
And there's no point writing about how devastating the men's basketball team's loss was Wednesday night against South Carolina. I don't want to rub that in. (But seriously, what a phenomenal pass that was for the Gamecocks' layup as the clock expired.)
Instead of all that, I want to settle a little debate.
In the Alligator office, we love arguing about stupid things. We spent two hours Wednesday night debating the top 10 bands of all time, for example. One dispute we've been unable to settle in the last two years is this one: What is the greatest sports video game of all time?
Alligator readers, I'm relying on you to help us out. Send me an e-mail with your choices or add them as comments, and after one week of receiving responses, we'll post an online vote with the top five responses.
Here are some suggestions to get you started. This obviously is not a comprehensive list, and it neglects newer games. But that doesn't mean your Maddens or NBA Lives are any less valid. Send me your picks of games from any generation.
Pong: After all, isn't this the original sports video game? You can't beat Pong for innovation, though the game gets boring after a while. But this most basic form of table tennis on the most basic of all video-game systems laid the groundwork for future games like Top Spin and Virtua Tennis.
NBA Jam TE: A personal favorite, NBA Jam may have cemented flashy dunking in the minds of a generation. Where else can you go back in time and play as the Seattle Supersonics with Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton? Where else do the Mailman and John Stockton hook up with ease? And the turbo system built into Jam became a staple for plenty of sports games in the future. Midway's NFL Blitz series was a direct descendant of NBA Jam.
NHL '94: This masterpiece brought the one-timer to hockey video games. It also featured smooth gameplay, shootout mode and player profiles. This game is the reason I love hockey, and it gets my vote, hands down. But don't let me persuade you - I'm probably one of 100 people on this campus who is passionate about hockey to the point of screaming at the television. I hate to think of this game being left out of the top five, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was absent from the final poll considering my audience.
Tecmo Super Bowl: You didn't think I'd forget about this one, did you? Not much needs to be said about this classic Nintendo football game. Two words really do justice to this game's awesomeness: Bo Jackson. Tecmo Super Bowl also included the ability to play an entire NFL season.
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!: The name on the box might not have the same impact it did in 1987, but Punch-Out still hits hard. You guide Little Mac through progressively tougher boxing matches until the final duel with Mike Tyson.
Ken Griffey, Jr. Presents Major League Baseball: Assistant Sports Editor Adam Berry simply says he would describe this game as "the truth." Who cares if you didn't get to control real players when you can play as "D. Crime" and "A. Hamilton?"
That's all for this list. Send in your votes, and I'll start counting.
