By Chase Stevens ’12
THE ROUNDUP

While it seems nearly everyone was excited for March Madness, others were looking forward to the FIFA tournament.

The FIFA club, located in Mr. Mike Nelson’s ’96 room, hosted a campus-wide tournament that started March 15 and was set to continue until there was only one team left.

FIFA is a videogame based on the Fèdèration Inernationale de Football Association soccer league. It is essentially the Madden of the soccer world.

According to EA Sports, the company that makes the videogame, it is the most popular sports title, even out selling Madden.

“The FIFA club goes out on a limb to use the latest FIFA.  In this case it’s ’10, and we will wait for ’11 next year,” said Manuel Siguenza ’12, a member of the FIFA club.

Students and teachers enter as teams of two and get put into the bracket.

“It is single elimination, which is why it is wise to make more than one team,” Siguenza said.

“We have over 50 teams this year,” Mr. Nelson said, faculty moderator of the club. “We are finishing the first round, so about 30 teams are left.”
The prize for first place is something to envy.

“We’re going to do a plaque this year with the winning team’s name and team members – to immortalize them for all time,” Mr. Nelson said. “And you also get a ‘Get Out of JUG Free’ pass.”

The FIFA club is unique in that it allows teachers to compete.

“We have six faculty teams this year, and we’re looking for more next year,” Mr. Nelson said.

While the tournament ended right before spring break, the FIFA club will still be around. Even when there is no tournament, members often come in during break and lunch to play FIFA and relax.

“Whenever we play, we take turns on controllers and choose random teams, both club and international,” Siguenza said. This is a contrast to tournament play, as entrants can only play as club soccer teams.

The FIFA club mainly is run and supplied by the students. Siguenza said that “our own members supply the equipment.  It tends to be Chuck Matthews ’12, Nate Sundermeier ’12, Carlos Mandeville ’12 and Brad Litman ’12.”