Courtesy of
http://www.ign.com
By way of: Orion9185
June 03, 2004 - When you think attitude, you think decimating tackles -- and I mean blowing through the line of scrimmage and blasting someone so hard, intimidating them to such a degree their career has never been the same decimating (remember Eddie George) -- one name comes to mind.
Ray Lewis.
From his Michael Jackson-like thrusts and leg kicks to open the game to his non-stop movement from whistle to whistle (mouth included), Ray Lewis personifies today's NFL.
But the future Hall of Famer doesn't stop competing when the real games are finished as he's also one of the most competitive players when it comes to showcasing his skills in games of Madden.
Only thing is, if you've got the game to challenge Ray, you better get ready to sweat as the Raven linebacker likes to bet exercise (pushups, sit ups, jumping jacks) on demand against rivals, and the more you lose, the more you owe. Don't believe us, ask Travis Taylor who owes Ray over 1,000 pushups thanks to running his mouth a little better than running the ball against the man they call Ray-Ray.
IGN Sports caught up with Lewis to talk Madden, the Ravens, and Kyle Boller. Here's what the man who doesn't believe in the curse had to say.
IGN Sports: EA Sports chose you as this year's cover athlete. What aspect of Madden best fits your personality?


Ray Lewis: First of all, it's an honor to be on the cover because it shows the ultimate respect for what I do. And since in 2005 the game is definitely more defensive minded, not to mention the style and the aggression of the game, that's me. Everything is based on defense and stopping people. And the real thing about it, Jon, this game is trying to be like real life. You don't see people scoring 100 points in games, so why should it be in the video game?
IGN Sports: One of the cool new aspects of the game is the Hit Stick that lets you unload on the player with the ball. What are some of the biggest hits you remember throughout your career?
Ray Lewis: Oh man, I've had so many. Some of my most memorable ones are the hit I put on that guy in the Denver game on Monday night. Then there was this dude named Poole, this receiver from Arizona who I hit pretty good. Those are just a few that stand out.
IGN Sports: You've had a chance to play the new Madden for the first time today. What do you think of the improvements?
Ray Lewis: I've been playing it all day and I have to say the defensive improvements they made really add a lot. That was one of the things with me being on the cover was the addition of the defense, and it's something I felt the game was missing until now. But the defensive adjustments they made will really add strategy to every play, and this is coming from someone who plays the game, not just the guy on the cover. I take this seriously. I've been a fan of video games since the old school, I even have a lot of the old school arcade games at my house. I've got Pacman, Galaga, Galaxian, Daytona 500. Those are the games I grew up playing. So I take this seriously, I want the game with my face on the cover to be the best, and that's Madden 2005, the best.
IGN Sports: When you play Madden, do you play as the Ravens?
Ray Lewis: We just sit down and play random teams. Play random and see who you get. That makes it more fair. No favorite players, no favorite teams, just play.
IGN Sports: I know a lot of guys don't like playing as themselves in the game.
Ray Lewis: Especially the way they have me in the game, I'd be making myself mad both ways. Playing as me, I'd try to make every play, playing against me, I'd be mad at the guy making all the tackles. [laughs]
IGN Sports: It's hard to break those tackles from #52 in the game.
Ray Lewis: That's just like real life, man. [laughs]
IGN Sports: You're probably going to hear a lot about the Madden curse this year, how every player who has been on the cover has had bad things happen to them.
Ray Lewis: That's a thing I believe nothing about. I don't believe a thing about a curse. I don't understand how we can talk about a curse. You have to remember, God is blessed and man can't curse, no matter how hard they try. Whatever your path is, that's your path.
IGN Sports: It's funny how people try to blame the game.
Ray Lewis: Exactly. Don't make a video game an excuse for the way certain things happen. That's the easy way out. The reason he played bad is because he was on this…that's the easy way out. People forget that you have to do the proper training for your job and whatever is God's will is God's will.
IGN Sports: Do you still bet pushups on games of Madden?
Ray Lewis: Oh yeah, and not just pushups but workouts in general. Pushups, sit ups, whatever I want, and they're all on demand. You could put on your best prom outfit and be ready to pickup your date and I might ask for my 50. [laughs] I think Travis Taylor owes me like a 1,000 pushups. You have to be careful of people who like to talk a big game but can't back it up. Any game that you step on, you can get beat, but Travis just kept losing and talking, talking and losing until it added up to 1,000. That's the record.
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