Madden Day in the Carthaginian

Taken from the Carthaginian.
      Leake puts on game face Tues.
      Where a search of the internet for entries on Madden, Miss. a month earlier would have turned up few legitimate references beyond Leake Academy, by Wednesday morning there were more than a score. And one would have to go to about the 15th page before finding a list that didn’t include video game references. An obscure, unincorporated community in Leake County, Madden on Tuesday captured a share of the world’s attention, simply because its name is the same as the legendary National Football League coach and TV commentator, John Madden. Based on that link alone, promoters from New York, California, Washington and elsewhere converged over the last month on Leake County, planning the debut of Microsoft’s and Electronic Arts, Inc.’s Madden NFL 07, the video football game which also carries the coach’s name. The Xbox 360 game made its premier in a hay pasture west of Madden proper, the guest of Joe Mack and Peggy Thaggard, who made sure much of the hay was cut beforehand then watched in bemusement as glitz and tinsel sprouted in the stubble. For their hospitality, the Thaggards received an Xbox 360 console, a copy of the game and a big screen television. But give-aways were part of the day, with tee shirts, caps and toy footballs tossed to the crowd, estimated unofficially as about 2,000 people. A crowd of 2,000 was what promoters projected. Those trinkets then turned, in some cases, to free Xboxes and games or the chance to play the new game on any of 25 player kiosks set up in an air- conditioned tent. In addition, 74 folks who had addresses with the Madden Post Office, Post Master Bulus Leflore announced, would receive a copy of the game and an Xbox. Of course, he explained, patrons would receive certificates to redeem at the Carthage Post Office, since the Madden Post Office was too small to store that much hardware.
      While the game was the centerpiece of the proceedings, the highlight of the day may have been the presence of three former NFL football stars, including Mississippi native Jerry Rice, of Crawford; running back Marshall Faulk, and quarterback Warren Moon, who only days earlier had been inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. The fame for the day, however, may have spread beyond Madden, the community, to Leake County as a whole, as producers of the event gave glowing reports on work that led up to the 45-minutes of fame in a hayfield. “Our job,” said Mollie O’Donnell, group manager, global public relations for Xbox, “is to have fun and make people happy.” By that measure the day succeeded, but it came with a lot of local help, she said.
      Original plans called for the event to be held in the middle of Madden at Leake Academy, but logistics and ambiance moved the celebration to an even more rural setting. “We thought,” O’Donnell, of Redmond, Wash., said, “the field would be more reflective of the town.”
      Even with the sudden change of plans, local support held steady. “I have to tell you, they came back, thumbs up,” she said. “This town has embraced us. “We would not have done this if there hadn’t been that much support.”   It reflected, she said, the support Microsoft officials had for the program once it was sold in late July. “You should have seen it when I went in to my boss,” she said. Skepticism, O’Donnell said, was evident, but “she heard and she said, ‘Do it.’” The program she said, fell together “perfectly.”
      Carlos de Leon, of The Alan Taylor Group, a New York public relations firm which developed the idea, compared preparations to “clockwork. “This event started out at Madden, and EA putting on an event in the community; now it’s the community putting on the event. “So much donated time, so much donated resources.”   EA, Microsoft and Zed Ink, the Venice, Calif. logistics team, came in with their own resources also. When constr- uction wrapped up, a giant inflatable football sat in the hayfield, surrounded by white tents, sound equipment, a giant television screen, and a satellite media truck to edit and broadcast footage of proceedings around the nation. The size of the investment was difficult to ascertain, O'Donnell said. “It’s difficult, if not impossible,” she said, “to put a number on it. The important thing is that this, even by Xbox standards, is a big event.” “I think A-plus to the town of Madden, that’s for sure,” said Meg Reeves, of Zed Ink, in grading the outcome late Tues- day morning. “They were A-one, they were great. I had volunteers I couldn’t have done without.” “I’m     amazed,” agreed O'Donnell, “at how well it has gone.   No one could predict how the people of Leake County would embrace us as a family.” The county could return the compliment, according to Renodda Dorman, executive director of the Leake County Chamber of Commerce, who pulled yeoman’s duty, assisting the promotions team for weeks, putting in scores of extra hours. “Wonderful,” she said lateTuesday, “just   wonderful. Those people know what they were doing. I don’t think anything could have gone any better.
“They were so nice, some of the nicest folks I’ve ever been around.”