If you had a childhood that crossed paths with the original Nintendo then you still understand all it takes for a flawless game of football is four plays and a sweet ass high-five animation that repeats every time you score a touchdown. Let Madden have its offensive formations and last minute defensive line adjustments; all I need for a good time is Bo Jackson sitting in the backfield waiting for me to call "run 1" and let him go to work. Tecmo Bowl was and still is a game that defines perfection, but it's not just about gritting it out on the gridiron, it's a game that teaches the most valuable life lesson you could ever learn: sometimes you've got no choice but to take the sack.

We've all been there: Lawrence Taylor bearing down on you like a heat-seeking missile while your receivers make their way up the field with DB's attached to them at the hip. Common sense and hundreds of hours of past experience tell you that throwing the ball can only end in a turnover, so what do you do? You furiously cycle through receivers, close your eyes and throw the ball right before the QB gets hammered, and wouldn't you know it, it's intercepted. Son of a bitch!

I'm not sure what causes this phenomenon but, almost without fail, intelligent people, when faced with a defense that has picked their play, will:

    1) Become fully aware their receivers are covered
    2) Briefly consider the five yard loss that is about to ensue
    3) Attempt a last minute coup against God himself and throw a pass with zero chance of success

Then, in the most illogical move yet, become angry with the game when the pass is inevitably picked off. Tecmo Bowl strives to teach the lesson that sometimes there is simply no hope for success. Not in the overall war, but just in some particular battles.

In Tecmo Bowl, much as in life, the people who are going to be most successful are the ones willing to occasionally swallow their pride and sacrifice a few yards because they know that the next play brings them a 75% rate of success. So what if you got taken down by Mike Singletary the play before? It's a new day, and the sack will be a distant memory as you drop back 50 yards and gun an 80 yard pass toward the end zone.

The funny thing is, no matter how polished a Tecmo Bowl fiend you become, there are still times when you stubbornly insist on thumbing your nose at fate. Rather than meagerly trying to scramble back to the line of scrimmage and minimize your loss, you force the pass without even thinking and then feel that instant sickness swell up in the pit of your stomach as you know Ronnie Lott has your pass in his sights. Much like choosing the Redskins reverse play, passing into coverage is overly optimistic and just plain stupid.

Life is all about getting to the end zone at the conclusion of each drive. No one will care that you got tied up in the backfield a few times along the way. All they'll remember is the triumphant slow mo high-five as you celebrate your dominance 8-bit style.

As my friend put it, "Sometimes you must take a small defeat to achieve total victory - take the sack." Obviously, the one exception to all this would be if you have Mark Bavaro to run a cross route over the middle, in which case you're living a charmed life indeed. Seriously, the man is unstoppable!