Two-a-Days Aren't Required Virtually, Right?

With the 2012 college football season just a matter of days away, I can't help but think of the actual football players doing two-a-days right now in preparation for their big season.  I would like to think that my own virtual players are undergoing the same amount of practice, but they're simply not.  As much as NCAA College Football replicates the actual playing experience, I understand it is not real.  Nevertheless, I feel the identity principle and practice principle are both driving my experience so far.

NCAA College Football does not require that one create an identity within the game if you're playing exhibition games like myself.  There is the opportunity to become a "real player" out on the field though.  While there are different aspects to this type of identity development compared to a role play game, it is easy to transport yourself into the "real player" because of the overall player mentality that sets in.  No matter who you are, or how much you know about football, you want to be the teammate that helps win.

Much like the real world football players who practice on a consistent basis, it is important to practice in NCAA College Football.  When I started the game up tonight, I opted not to run a few plays in practice mode and instead chose to play a game right away.  While my opponent was lower ranked than my team, and I still played at the freshman level, I found it much more difficult to execute plays.  I fumbled over buttons in the plays and got frustrated very quickly.  My field goal attempts were abismal and we went into a double overtime with a tied game of, get this...........0-0.  Really??  One more quarterback sac, as well as a run into the end zone that finally helped me gain a point advantage, I won the game.  About halfway through I wanted to abandon ship and go back to the practice field because I could tell that I was indeed out of practice.  The practice principle is there for a reason...and in my case tonight, I now see why.

Thus far, I am not too certain how this is helping develop my love of the game, or even my knowledge about it.  If I spend some more time in practice and develop my skills in a handful of plays that I can always defer to, then maybe I will be able to understand the complexities a bit more.  For now, I still feel like I'm just quickly selecting a play because it looks different than the one I just ran.  While that may be one way of pursuing a win, I would like to think there is more strategy and development required to further guarantee success in each game.