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Bucs, Troops Vie In Global Video Game Contest

Tribune photo by JULIE BUSCH

Luis Balbontin of Land O' Lakes talks to his son, Marine Cpl. Josh Balbontin, stationed in Japan, via an Internet connection at the Pro Vs. GI Joe event at One Buccaneer Place to honor soldiers and veterans on Veterans Day.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 11, 2008

Updated: 11/11/2008 02:46 pm

TAMPA - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers do battle on the football field once a week. U.S. troops overseas face real-life hostilities just about every day.

This morning, Bucs players waged video war alongside and against GIs online in a USO event staged to bring a little bit of home to troops around the globe. They also met on "Madden NFL '09" for cyber football bragging rights.

The worldwide video-game competition, sponsored by the nonprofit group Pro vs. GI Joe, began at the 11th hour today, Veterans Day, and pitted four Buccaneers against troops stationed in four countries, said Addie Zinone, co-founder of Pro vs. GI Joe, which sets up video competitions across the nation involving professional athletes and troops overseas.

"We do this about twice a month," she said.

Most recently, Green Bay Packers players participated, she said.

Soldiers are big-time gamers, said Zinone, a reserve Army sergeant who recently completed her second tour in Iraq, "It's the No. 1 activity when they are off duty."

Today was special in Tampa, though.

Relatives of GIs were flown in to Tampa for free to watch the competition against Bucs players Cato June, Alex Smith, Phillip Buchanon and Aqib Talib. They cheered for their soldiers and the Bucs and had brief face-to-face video conversations with their loved ones overseas.

"What?" asked Robin Parker of Virginia with headphones on, looking into a laptop at her brother Michael, who is stationed in Japan. She turned to her mother, Michele.

"He wants me to show him my belly."

Robin stood up and pulled her T-shirt up to reveal a very pregnant condition. She hasn't seen her brother in two years, she said. "This is a little weird."

About 40 relatives of overseas troops took up the first three rows in the auditorium at One Buc Place on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The rest of the seats were taken by service members who came to watch. About 80 people altogether were there.

Live Internet feeds came from Japan, Dubai, Iraq and Germany.

"That's him right up there on the left," said JoAnn Digman of St. Louis, who sat in the second row and who admitted knowing very little about video gaming.

Her eyes welled up when she talked about her son Michael, who is serving in Iraq.

"He's always been a good kid," she said, "and he's always been good at video games."

It has been almost a year since she has seen Michael.

"We are truly excited about this," she said.

A few seats away, Scott Russell of St. Cloud was anxious to see his son Jeff, who also is in Japan. A dozen relatives and friends came to watch and chat with Jeff over the Web.

"We have a pretty big group here," said Russell, the father, who is a retired Air Force sergeant. He has two other sons who served in the military, including one who is an F-16 fighter pilot.

"This is pretty neat," he said, nodding to the computers hooked into laptops that threw game and webcast images on a huge screen overhead. "We're not sure how all of this works, but we all are pretty excited."

June, a starting linebacker and six-year professional, was first up, and the game was "Call of Duty." He held his own, as he was paired up with GIs in Japan, who played the game at 1:30 a.m. Japan time.

"It was great," June said later. "We can take a crack at what they do for a living, and they can take a crack at what we do."

June admitted to being a video gamer and playing "Call of Duty" a lot, often with others online in real-time battles.

Seeing so many military veterans and relatives in the hall was great, he said.

"Everybody loves video games," he said.

He thought he did well on the video battleground, even though he was a little out of his league.

His teammates had the edge, he said, using battle tactics, language and signals only they could understand.

He said he was happy to compete.

"It's a great way to pay tribute to the veterans who are protecting this country," he said.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760.

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