There was no feeling quite like getting your hands on the latest edition of EA Sports' "NCAA Football" video game every summer on the second Tuesday of July.
It's been a full six year's since we've had a new game released and countless gamers and college football fans alike have been starving for a new game since the company discontinued the franchise following the July 9, 2013 release of "NCAA 14," sporting Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson on its cover.
EA reached a settlement in June of 2014 that cost the company $60 million to compensate athletes for the use of their likeness.
To be clear, the lawsuit was completely justified. These players had EA developers creating a virtual version of themselves, in most cases down to their physical features, hairstyles, attributes and even their hometowns. And they weren't seeing a dime of compensation.
Dynasty mode was terrific. Who didn't love picking a random, low-level team and turning them into a national powerhouse? The recruiting process within the game mode was so much fun. It had evolved over the last few versions of the game and getting into a recruiting battle with your rivals to find a quarterback or running back to replace the guy who just won four Heismans and four national championships in a row was so fun.
Personally, rather than playing with my favorite team, when I began a dynasty, I loved scrolling until I landed on a random conference and then scrolling until I landed on the first bad team in that conference. Let's just say I grew to love Wyoming's brown & yellow color scheme as I won multiple championships with the 'Pokes. I also went for it all with UTSA when the Roadrunners were introduced to the game in 2012.
Road To Glory mode was something else, too. If I ever got bored of a dynasty -- which, let's be honest, was a pretty rare occurrence -- I enjoyed creating a player and bringing him up through the high school playoffs, earning scholarship offers along the way, and then grinding it out to win the Heisman. What a brilliant game mode.
Imagine what the game would look like today. Done right (without making things too complicated), the EA developers could have evolved these game modes and graphics into something really special.
Well guess what. The possibility of the franchise's return looks like it's becoming pretty real.
Many people still play the game even six years later, and the devout followers of the game still put in countless hours to create downloadable roster updates to reflect current teams. Unfortunately, I don't have a functioning XBox 360 anymore and can't partake in such activities.
Where do you think "NCAA Football 14" ranks amongst the best sports video games of all time?