10 Things only FIFA gamers will understand

Football, rightly called the beautiful game, unites billions of people all over the globe and its magic has spread to the virtual world in the form of the much-loved FIFA series. EA Sports’ masterpiece has truly come a long, long way since its inception in 1993 and has improved by leaps and bounds in terms of graphics since its 16-bit days.Another amazing thing that the FIFA series has spawned is its phenomenal fan base, who are an extremely devoted bunch and can be held in the same regard as Star Wars and Star Trek loyalists. Keeping that in mind, I present to you 10 things that only FIFA gamers will understand.

#1 Eagerly anticipating the game\'s next installment

It happens every year! No matter how many hours you’ve played the current version, no matter how good or bad its gameplay is, and no matter how many memories you’ve made with it, you just can’t help waiting for the next instalment of FIFA to come out.

In fact, I’d go as far to comparing the hype FIFA’s latest instalment generates to the hype Apple creates when it launches its latest iPhone every year. You can’t be a true FIFA fanatic if you’re not charged up come September.

#2 FIFA Rage

You’re officially a FIFA fan if you’ve experienced the customary FIFA rage at least once in your lifetime, which I’m sure you have. Anything from a last minute goal from the opposition to a bad refereeing decision could trigger FIFA rage – the after effects ranging from screaming at the top of your voice, smashing your controller in despair to simply quitting the game in anger.

EA may even start offering a free bottle of Valium with the game if the disease doesn’t stop (which is highly likely to never happen).

#3 Loss of connection

This match has ended – Another thing every die hard FIFA gamer has encountered at least once is a connection loss. Just imagine you’re having a good game and leading by an unbeatable score when suddenly the EA serve plays spoilsport and the familiar phrase ‘Connection has been lost with your opponent’ flashes in front of your disbelieving, blood shot eyes.

Even one loss of connection can have a lasting impact on your season, which is why EA really need to find a solution to that problem quickly.

#4 Overrated or Underrated Players

Every single game in the FIFA series has its fair share of overrated or underrated players. EA good-naturedly assigns overall ratings to every player for the benefit of team selection, but life or form, to sound more football specific, is extremely unpredictable and the ratings often end up looking silly.

For e.g. Harry Kane’s original FIFA 15 rating of 68 looks extremely laughable now (77 in new upgrade), considering he’s one of the most in-form players in Europe right now. Ratings are the biggest problem in the case of Ultimate Team, where the majority of upgrades take place just once a year, leaving EA to take the flak for no fault of theirs.

#5 Geoff Shreeves

To the outside world, he’s just an ordinary commentator, but to FIFA gamers he’s a legend – the one and only Geoff Shreeves! The Englishman has been a source of laughs for FIFA gamers since FIFA 13, mostly due to the fact that his injury updates are considered pointless due to the fact that the concerned players almost always return to action for the next game.

Not to forget Martin Tyler’s ‘Cheers Geoff’ response to almost everything Shreeves comments about in the game, which has spawned numerous hilarious memes as well as a humorous Twitter parody account.

#6 Sweaty Goals

There’s a special place in hell for people who score sweaty goals on FIFA. For those of you who don’t know a sweaty goal is when a person playing FIFA online dribbles the ball as close to the goal post as possible until the keeper charges at them, after which the player passes the ball to their teammate nearby who conveniently has an open goal to shoot in.

#7 Annoying Opponents

Once again, to be fair every game has its share of annoying opponents but the ones on FIFA take annoying to a whole new level. Once in a while we all come across opponents who watch the games opening sequence as if it’s some mandatory custom or refuse to skip utterly pointless replays. The reason for engaging in such behaviour is known to them alone.

#8 Rage Quitting

Okay to be fair every game has its fair share of rage quitters, but one can safely say that the ratio of rage quitters in FIFA is far more superior than any other game. Everyone knows that football is an extremely intense game, and one of the best ways to end ones misery in the face of a crushing defeat on FIFA is to do a kamikaze and simply quit the game.

The losers logic is that the winning party will never be truly satisfied with himself if he obtained victory due to his opponent quitting. Go figure.

#9 Ronaldo vs Messi Debate Continues

The question that has plagued football for a long time finds no solution in FIFA 15. Both Messi and Ronaldo have their own unique attributes in the game. While both the players are evenly matched in speed, Messi pips his rival in terms of dribbling and passing which helps change games, but Ronaldo scores better in terms of physicality and shooting abilities.

Due to both the players having their own unique usefulness to gamers, the debate as to who’s better isn’t really solved by FIFA 15.

#10 FIFA Scouting

Thanks to this amazing feature most of us already know who footballs next wonder kid could turn out to be. FIFA’s scouting, which is second only to Football Manager, is nothing short of amazing, and often correctly identifies footballs future superstars.

Thanks to the game’s integrated scouting players can get talented wonder kids for cheap and do a Sir Alex Ferguson and nurture them into world class talents. However, it’s common knowledge that real life is extremely unpredictable and a wonder kid on FIFA could very well turn out to be a Bojan Krkic in real life.