Bubba Wallace feels a little out of place. On a Sunday afternoon, with a bunch of current and former NFL stars along with Snoop Dogg, the NASCAR driver found himself in a conversation to play Madden as part of the virtual Pro Bowl Sunday.
Like so many other things in the 2020 NFL season, the game had to be modified due to the coronavirus pandemic. So instead of a real Pro Bowl, it went online with current and former NFL players – along with Snoop Dogg – who each played a quarter of the game.
Then there was Wallace.
“I just took it all in and enjoyed it and then heard the stories and conversations, it was just, it was almost like, ‘Man, am I really sitting here talking to these guys,'” Wallace said. ‘I’m just a race car driver who does not want to be in the room with these people, but here, we’re here and playing with Snoop Dogg, it was cool.
“Between him and [former running back] Marshawn [Lynch], these were definitely the two biggest junk talkers. ‘
In the end, Wallace, who occasionally plays Madden but likes Call of Duty more, became the standout for the NFC with a dominant second quarter with three attacks against Keyshawn Johnson in a 32-12 win over the AFC .
Pro Bowl MVP Kyler Murray, Wallace, Jamal Adams and Lynch make up the NFC team. Deshaun Watson, Johnson, Derrick Henry and Snoop Dogg were the AFC.
“I played like that and thought I would be the weakest link,” Wallace said. ‘But I think we could see I was not. I was exactly the opposite. So that was good. That was good. ‘
Before the game, the eight players talked about how bad they were. Then they play and realize the levels of “not very good” vary.
Johnson struggled during his five-minute quarter. He surrendered three times, intercepted and dropped a setback and drew criticism from his teammates and Michael Strahan and Charissa Thompson.
After Wallace’s third attempt, Johnson just holds his head. When the quarter was mercifully over, Wallace bent his arms while Johnson jokingly (perhaps?) Accused Wallace of sacrificing his skills.
“It’s a shark floating by the pool,” Johnson said on the stream. “What he did.”
Wallace had help. Murray, the NFC captain, told him before they started what defense to play and told him to turn between a certain amount of offensive plays and look for the open man.
“I’m usually just an Ask Madden guy,” Wallace said. “Like I’m just picking a play. I’m like, ‘Ooh, it looks like a good play, let’s capitalize and try to get something there.’ He was like, pick this defense, run all the time and then go with some of these offensive options.
“Can definitely hear his voice in the crowd, like here, choose it. Choose it. Helped a lot. That’s why he’s the MVP.”
In one of the few replacements of the match, Jamal Adams inserted his virtual self – because why wouldn’t you – in place of Budda Baker. Virtual Adams then intercepted a pass and fucked in the second half. Adams also ran four straight passes to tighthead TJ Hockenson, which resulted in a touchdown.
However, the highlight of the game had nothing to do with anything that happened in Madden.
That was what happened on the side, where Snoop Dogg and Lynch had a running comment. And when the two played each other in the fourth quarter – Lynch holds a 20-point lead – it was quickly on fire. Among other things, when Lynch intercepted a Snoop Dogg pass and immediately fell to the ground.
Why?
The chair he was sitting on broke. “It was a great comedy there,” Wallace said. “Besides, we all laughed all night. It was a great time, a great conversation, just to be able to relax and have fun. ‘
Wallace said he laughed more all night than in a long time.
Wallace, a Saints fan after meeting Alvin Kamara last year and knowing he was playing for his favorite college team, Tennessee, said it’s pretty cool ‘to be able to play and interact with guys who he is still seen playing on Sundays.
He had met Lynch once – the only person he knew to come in – and at the end exchanged information with Murray, who said he wanted to come watch a race. And if Madden were to do it again, Wallace said he had enough fun to return.
“If it was structured the same way, I would not change anything,” Wallace said. “It was nice, didn’t take up too much time, went through and it was really cool.”