The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
TECMO JAM CLEVELAND
Tecmo Super Bowl and NBA Jam video game tournaments Aug. 4 and 5 American Legion, 31972 Walker Road, Avon Lake (doors open at 10 a.m.) $35 for Tecmo Super Bowl or NBA Jam only; $50 for both tournaments tecmocleveland. com
A total of 55 gamers from seven states in addition to Ohio gathered at the American Legion (31972 Walker Road) in Avon Lake for “Tecmo Super Bowl” and “NBA Jam” supremacy. Jenkins calls the tournament Tecmo Jam Cleveland.
Get ready for Round 2 on Aug. 4 and 5 at the same venue. Jenkins expects the number of competitors to increase to about 65 or 70. A gamer from Indiana has registered, so that makes nine states that have been represented in the two-year Gamers at the 2017 Tecmo Jam Cleveland tournament play Tecmo Super Bowl.
history of the tournament.
“Tecmo Super Bowl” and “NBA Jam” are two of the most popular sports video games of all-time.
“Tecmo Super Bowl” was released on the original Nintendo system in 1991. In 2016 for the game’s 25th anniversary, several stories were written as a tribute to it. The game is a side-scroller that plays simple: There are four running
plays to choose and four passing plays.
The big attraction was the addition of one of sports’ greatest dual athletes — the Raiders’ Bo Jackson. He was so good in the game, he was nearly unstoppable.
“Bo is awesome in the game, but he’s not the only reason the game has a cult following,” Jenkins said. “It was the first sports games where you could customize playbooks, play entire seasons, change rosters, do substitutions.”
In 2017, Sports Illustrated wrote a story about the history of “NBA Jam,” It gained popularity as a standup game in arcades then became a massive hit on home consoles. The 2-on-2 style playground style game featured most NBA stars of the time — save Michael Jordan. It was over-the-top fun as players dunked from all heights and angles, and even caught on fire. When a player was at top form, the game’s announcer would scream “Boomshakalaka!”
Putting the two games together for a weekend blowout seemed fitting to Jenkins. The games are still popular, and he’s hoping that popularity paves the way for a third tournament in 2019 and beyond.
“This is purely a hobby and a passion,” Jenkins said. “I do it because I love video games.”
As expected, the demographic for the tournament is men between the ages of 30 and 50. Jenkins said about 200 were in attendance at the 2017 tournament. Several were under 30, and their introduction to the games always make for good conversation.
“They love the games when they see them,” said Jenkins, who provides the TVs, Nintendo (for “Tecmo Super Bowl”) and Sega Genesis (for “NBA Jam”) consoles and the video games for the tournament.
Each day will feature three divisions based on the skills of gamers. Cash prizes and 12 trophies — six each day — will be awarded. The tournament also will be live-streamed on the True Game Fans Network.
“I think this a really cool community thing,” Jenkins said. “The people involved are really passionate about these games. How incredible is it that 25 to 30 years later we’re even having this conversation? But these games still hold up.”