By Lisa Zimmerman, Player Engagement Insider
NEW YORK, NY - As the NFL kicks off its Salute to Service Month in conjunction with the observance of Veterans Day on November 11th, the league office in New York hosted a fun and unique event with active members of the military and NFL players.
The event, Pro vs. GI Joe Madden 17 featured approximately a dozen soldiers who rotated playing Madden football against each other and current Chicago Bears linebacker Lamarr Houston, former St. Louis Rams running back Quinn Porter, former New York Giants running back Keith Elias and former NFL Pro Bowl running back Ahman Green (Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans).
The event was developed through a partnership between the NFL and the non-profit organization Joint Forces Initiative (JFI), which created the Pro vs. GI Joe events. JFI works not only with individual NFL teams, but with other major sports leagues as well. They arrange video-playing events where professional athletes play Madden football online against troops stationed around the world as a way of creating connections and a sense of support and unity.
Addie Zinone, a retired Army staff sergeant who served 14 years, including two tours in Iraq, noticed when she was overseas that many troops played video games on their downtime to relax and get away from the daily stresses. She ultimately created JFI with her husband, Greg, which they officially launched in 2008. They now have two children, but she refers to JFI as “Our first baby.”
Zinone described how it works. “The video game breaks down barriers. It boosts morale because it’s connecting troops stateside with something they miss. We do a live webcam feed. They are able to compete against a professional athlete on an even playing ground. The professional athlete, I think sometimes they come into it thinking it’s just another community relations event, but what ends up happening is they are overwhelmed with that connection to the troops and they are shocked that they are really talking to someone in a place like Afghanistan.”
JFI is run by the Zinones and funded by sponsors like the NFL.
For the troops who participated in the event at the league office, it was just fun. The mood was upbeat, but highly focused – after all, pride was on the line. And the NFL players in the room had as much fun as their military counterparts.
Green played remotely, via a live webcam feed, with a solder stationed at one of the United States’ bases in Germany. Green lost. However, he pointed out it was only by two points. “I started slow offensively.”
On a more serious note, Green, who has been involved with the program prior to the New York event expressed his admiration and support for what these men and women do. He has several family members who were in the military, including a cousin who served seven tours in Iraq and is grateful to be able to give back in a way that brings joy and relaxation to those who serve.
“Hanging out with guys who are actually going in (to the military), you’re just kicking it with your boys playing video games and trash talking,” he said. “It gives them a chance to center themselves because when they’re out there doing what they do, it’s stuff we see in movies or on TV, but they live it.”
Houston’s team was, naturally, the Bears and he happily pointed out that he was also playing himself in that game (Houston is currently on injured reserve rehabbing after surgery for a torn ACL). He won 6-0; his kicker missed the extra point. But for Houston as well, the event went far beyond just playing a game.
“I think it’s a great experience,” he said of Pro Vs. GI Joe. “Any time you get an opportunity to show someone that you appreciate them and the sacrifices they make for you so you can enjoy your lifestyle, you take it. I’m very grateful for what our military does. If I can come out and play a few video games and just chill with them as a friend to say, ‘thank you,’ I love to do that.”
JFI is a full-time mission and one in which the Zinone and her husband take great pride and joy.
“We are so busy all the time and we’re very proud of what we’ve been able to do,” she said. “We’re a really small organization doing really big things.”
Lisa Zimmerman is a long-time NFL writer and reporter. She was the Jets correspondent for CBSSports.com, SportsNet New York’s TheJetsBlog.com and Sirius NFL Radio. She has also written for NFL.com.