OS Memory Lane: A Reminder About How Insane We Were About Finding NCAA Football Early

One of the many reasons I still love this place is that OS has done a good job preserving its history if we’re judging by internet standards. Our forums are archaic, but you can still go 20 years back in the archives and find old threads.

I’ve been on OS (and MaddenMania before that) since I was a kid, and I’ve written for OS basically my entire adult life. It’s a part of my internet DNA, and for people who have been here a long time, there’s parts of this place that you never forget. One of those things that’s never going to leave my mind are the yearly “Where Is It, When Will I Get It, Who’s Got It” threads where a bunch of certifiably unhinged gamers discuss their hunt for early copies of NCAA Football.

It’s how you end up with 3,700+ post threads where my ballpark figure is that 3,500 of them are about not getting the game. But, ya know, it was about the journey not the destination. I’ve talked lovingly about reading stories about “games falling off the back of trucks” being how some people go the game early, and various other sketchy and funny stories alike.

Some folks might not get this entire concept because the idea of early copies is not something we really deal with anymore today. We have built-in early access, physical releases are not that big of a deal in general anymore, and since the retail market is more homogenized now we don’t have oodles of offshoot stores and sites potentially selling early copies of the game.

Still, if we go back to 2005 and the early release hunt of NCAA Football 06, it’s full of gems like this from OS user Shamrock_11:

I just got the game at CompUSA in Cincinnati. A poster over at MaddenMania said he got a copy there, so I raced over and asked the girl behind the customer service counter if they had NCAA Football 2006. She said, “I think that’s the game that’s been in lockdown”, and picked up the phone and called her manager. She asked him if they had anymore of “those football games”. The manager said something to her, and then she asked him, “the one with the name on it that we are holding?”. I don’t know what else they said, but she hung up the phone, reached under the counter and handed me an Xbox copy. For those that don’t believe me send me a friend request (If you have Xbox Live) and you can see for yourself. Keep checking your local CompUSA….they ARE selling the game early.

And because one CompUSA sells it to one person, this kicks off the hunt. But the thing is not all the CompUSA stores are selling this game, this comes down to employees. This comes down to personality. This comes down to grit and desire. Who wants it more? Who needs it more? Sure, you’re basically obsessing over the chance to play the game maybe a couple days before normal “early access” these days, but that was irrelevant.

You know who is loving this mass hysteria right now? The gas stations.

OS user Jaytdud

It is also worth noting that sometimes there was money on the line as well. Roster creators were constantly in an arms battle, and if you got the game early, you could start working on those rosters earlier to potentially sell them for profit or give to the community as a whole.

Whatever the reasoning was that we had to have the game early, for me it was about the stories and the hunt. As a kid, I never really took part in these hunts because, well, I couldn’t drive yet. So these threads were my outlet for that entertainment. This was still early enough in the history of the internet that it did not feel like you had something interesting at your fingertips 24/7, and we weren’t socially connected enough quite yet so it made forums feel important for breaking news.

And forums were (and are) still the place for the classic “my uncle works at Nintendo” stories. This classic from OS user ninefall is so long I won’t post it in full below but dives deep into how GameStop and even CompUSA maybe work as a way to explain why you may or may not be able to get the game early. (Also we just shared way more stuff at the time, peeps are putting their cell phone numbers, full names, etc. in these posts.)

I can only imagine what life was like for some of these retail employees who had to deal with the OS freaks invading their stores and calling multiple times a day, but I thank for them for their service since it gave us gems like this from OS user BayBomber49:

Every CompUSA in Chicagoland is sold out. I missed the a copy in St. Charles by about 15 minutes. Every store said to call back tomorrow because they may be getting a limited shipment tomorrow. Also while I was out, I thought I would let my local EB’s and Gamestops know what was happening and I got a few priceless responses such as:

EB Games:
Me: I wanted to know if you will be selling NCAA 06 early because the street date was broken?
Clerk: Uh…(looking at his partner, with scared look) no it is illegal?
Me: Ok, Just checking…
Clerk: Uh… (curious look at partner) it is illegal… Uh….I don’t know….It is illegal (looks at partner wondering what to do)
Me: Ok, I let you guys sort that out.

Gamestop: (Telephone)
Clerk: Thank You for calling Gamestop…
Me: Yah, I was wondering if you would be selling NCAA 06 earlier because the street date was broken today.
Clerk: What??? (very puzzled) It was broken?
Me: Yah, earlier this morning.
Clerk: Who broke it?
Me: CompUSA
Clerk: Those bastards… I hate stores like that.
(Calling to his boss)
Clerk:Hey, we have a huge problem with NCAA 06.
Clerk 2: S**t, This is ridiculous.
(Talking to me)
Clerk: Hey, did CompUSA have anymore copies?
Me: I wish
Clerk: Call us back tomorrow, we are going to sort this mess out.

Hopefully, this Gamestop will start selling in fear of loss of sales, or I just have to wait. Still tracking down a game is tons of fun for me.

We get deeper into the saga of CompUSA and the legend himself Mills comes off the top rope with this story:

Well, just got off the phone with a CompUSA Availability helper. Convo went like this:

Rep: What is your home zip code, sir?

Me: ——

Rep: What can I help you find today, sir?

Me: I was looking for a game for the Xbox.

Rep: Are you for NCAA Football 2006?

Me: Ummm….yeah, anywhere in the Baltimore/DC/Delaware area.

Rep: Hold on, sir…

(about 15 seconds pass)

Rep: Sir, that game is no longer available.

Me: You mean in my home area?

Rep: No sir. It is no longer available from our company. It will be re-released July 12th.

Me: Oh, okay. Thank you.

Needless to say, I think the jig is up wth CompUSA.

And for some, that’s all they need to give up, but many others do not. Because what you need to realize is Mill’s post is not even the halfway point of the thread. It will go on for days with more hits and misses, coping and seething, and nothing sums it up better than OS user TRASHMAN2K and his quest for an early copy of NCAA Football.

Hello my name is Marc and I have a problem. They say the first step is the hardest, and I’m sorry I’m just not ready.

And thank goodness you weren’t ready Marc. You and the sickos like you made my summer vacation that much more entertaining.