Well, if you can’t watch pro sports you might as well play them for the time being — virtually that is.
Nothing brings back one’s childhood nostalgia like playing video games of day’s past that shaped our adolescence, likely bolstering a devout and eternal love for sports in its process.
So, here are some staff picks of throwback sports games from the PS2, GameCube, and Xbox 360 era to get you through quarantine.
MVP Baseball 2005
This was THE GAME to play.
MVP Baseball ’05 had everything: awesome game play, just about every single vintage field and uniform, along with plenty of the game’s past legends and tons of mini games to play as well.
This was back in the time where you could build your own stadium, be a general manager for the first time, and just live in a true golden age of sports games.
It’s arguably the best sports game ever made — which concerns this reporter as to why new baseball games have yet to incorporate the magic that was MVP Baseball ’05.
NHL 2003
We’re particularly fond of this game for the professional and even sometimes goofy commentary done by Hockey Night in Canada’s legendary broadcaster Jim Hughson along with a killer soundtrack and fun gameplay — even on a PC.
Just hearing Hughson shout “STONED COLD BY RICHTER!” will put you in a better mood.
Skate 2
Well it was different than Tony Hawk games, but certainly an awesome, free world skating game that plenty of real world pros like Danny Way cameo in during the Xbox 360 era.
Jumping off and ramping down the massive San Van Dam and flying through the connected spillway repeatedly will certainly kill some boredom.
FIFA 10
Considered to be what brought soccer video games into frat houses, the (at the time) new look FIFA 10 still holds up as an awesome soccer play to date.
You’re not being truthful if you didn’t start murmuring in a British accent while playing at some point or another.
NHL 15
This hockey game came out when EA began to focus on sharpening its visuals and gameplay plus some awesome fighting controls too.
Particularly, NHL 15’s hitting controls would send guys flying down the ice and made scoring less robotic for 2 on 1 breakaway plays.
Madden NFL 07
This was back when Madden was really, really cool.
Not only was the “be a pro” mode extremely detailed in how your player would start in a “rookie apartment” and move up throughout your long awaited career while stopping in at the barber shop and tattoo parlor in between chats with your agent.
Madden 07 also allowed you to use “be a pro” mode with kickers, punters, and other positions that were later scrapped but are just oh so fun.
NBA 2K13
This game launched the 2K series into its modern era.
With awesome visuals, game play and tons of fun in its be a pro-mode, this game makes one awesome throwback to LeBron’s imperial, Miami Heat days.
March Madness 06
What’s wrong with having March Madness in April?
Relive the best of college basketball and set your own bracket of 64 in one of the better collegiate b-ball games made a whopping decade-and-a-half ago.
NCAA Football 13
Fans have long decried the return of these NCAA football games because they were just so darn awesome.
These college football games truly improved year after year and no matter if you were on freshman or All American difficulty settings, it was always a fun and wild time.
Not to mention Road to Glory mode was very well done too.
NFL Street 2
Perhaps the best off-beat sports game of its generation, NFL Street 2 featured all star pros, Xhibit, a killer soundtrack, and a gameplay with walled fields that could suck you in for an entire day.
Jeez, those wall to wall moves still give us chills.
Super Mario Strikers
Worthy of mention because, even as a Mario game, it has a truly competitive feel in its own unique way for a very physical version of fantasized soccer.
There isn’t much that beats a perfectly time super strike goal or a slow motion one timer, especially to beat that dang robot team.
Arena Football
This game was a hybrid of playing football and hockey virtually on PS2.
It was fun, fast paced and featured the real New York Dragons, whom played in the actual Arena Football League on Long Island for many years.
Need For Speed Carbon
You knew things were about to get real when someone took you to the canyon for a one-on-one race.
NFS carbon had sweet rides, intense police (and sometimes FBI) chases, in a vasty diverse and expansive map — thus making it one of the better street racing games there ever was.
We could be dating ourselves here, but they just don’t make ‘em like that anymore.
Wii Tennis/Bowling
These two games are responsible for the downfall of many flat screen TVs in 2006.
After better precautions were taken for wireless Nintendo Wii controllers, Wii tennis, bowling and other Nintendo kinetic sports were the pinnacle of the mid-2000s.
