The trash-talking bros of Madden
Andrew Belton makes a living playing Madden, a game he does not particularly like.
In his videos, he challenges “trash-talkers” who leave him insulting Instagram DMs, arguing, with colorful language, that they could kick his ass in the game. So Belton spends his time beating up on randos — and the occasional pro athlete — all while teasing and taunting them back for his YouTube audience. This is the part he does like: winning, especially when it’s against people who are so disrespectful. He goads them into risky passes and encourages them to go for it on fourth down when the sensible decision would be a punt.
Watching Belton’s channel, ABGotGame, the only thing he roasts more than his opponents? Madden itself. Common refrains: “This game is trash” or “this game is so bad.” Throughout any video, Belton is cursing the game’s developer, EA Sports, like it is some kind of malevolent god. An errant throw? “EA!” Taking a sack? “EA!!” Missing an easy interception? “EA!!! This game is trash!!!!!!!!!!!”
In January 2022, he posted a video titled “I’ve never seen this before...You win EA...I’m never playing Madden again…” But a week later, Belton posted another Madden video. If you’d been following his channel for a while, as I had, you knew he was never going to quit.
What’s funny about Madden — the sole NFL licensed video game franchise, now 34 years going — is that despite its massive popularity, all you ever hear is people complaining about it.
The main criticism, repeated often, is that each year’s new version is just a slight upgrade over the last. Since EA Sports has the exclusive license, it is the only company that can make a “simulation-style” NFL game. Thus springs an argument that the developer is under no pressure to
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