DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Fantasy & Gaming Pro's vs G.I Joes (Browns players vs National Guard in COD5)

Thought this was a cool article

Pros vs. G.I. Joes: Browns beat Ohio National Guard troops in online war game
Posted by Patrick O'Donnell/Plain Dealer Reporter November 18, 2008 22:43PM

BEREA -- Joshua Cribbs stabbed American soldiers in the back Tuesday.

He sneaked up on them and gunned them down, grinning and talking trash the entire time.

Then he smiled and offered the Ohio National Guard 237th Brigade Support Battalion 50 tickets to a Browns game when the unit returns to Ohio from Kuwait next month.

It was the least he could do after the Browns' star kick returner and teammates Charles Ali and Brodney Pool had massacred them -- over and over -- in an online video game.

The three Browns took on eight members of that statewide unit in the video game "Call of Duty 5" Tuesday afternoon.

The soldiers played from Camp Virginia in Kuwait. The Browns played in their conference room in Berea.

The game is set in a war-torn city. The scenario on Tuesday used soldiers representing each player, and they all tried to "kill" each other with guns and knives. Players rack up points through killing other players, wounding them or eliminating other targets.

A nonprofit group called Pros vs. G.I. Joes set up the games over an Internet connection as a morale boost for troops. The Browns were the fifth NFL team to participate.

The three Browns took turns sitting in a chair in front of a television draped in camouflage netting while a screen nearby showed webcam footage of the soldiers playing. Family and friends of the soldiers watched from seats in the room. At the end, soldiers and family were able to talk briefly over the webcam.

Cribbs and defensive back Pool said they, Ali and several other Browns play video games against each other online all the time. They said they were happy to give up some of their day off, even after returning at 4 a.m. from Monday night's game in Buffalo, for the troops.

"It was fun to ease the experience of soldiers abroad," Cribbs said afterward. The players made sure to voice respect for the soldiers' service in Kuwait since they showed none whatsoever in playing the game.

Pros vs. G.I. Joes founder Greg Zinone, who attended, said soldiers have won every game against football players at other events. But Tuesday, the soldiers ran into the Browns' own weapons of mass destruction.

Pool broke the streak, wiping out the soldiers in every match he played and winning one by a score of 125 to 7. Cribbs and Ali won by lesser margins but still dominated the games.

Pool said soldiers were talking trash, blaming the mismatch on the game lagging because of the connection. But mixed in with demands that the Browns beat the Bengals, Pool couldn't tell if those claims were true.

Cribbs said he gives the soldiers the benefit of the doubt. The Browns had also been practicing the latest version of the game, which came out just a week ago.

Although the Browns could hear soldiers' comments over headsets as they played, the soldiers' remarks were muffled when broadcast to the room.

But Joseph Garrett said his brother Jason, a reserve specialist from Cleveland who was one of those beaten badly by Pool, had been excited about the chance to play the last few days.

"He looked like he was really pumped," Joseph Garrett said.

So was Josh Nasca, a sniper and telecommunications specialist from Jefferson, according to his aunt, Chrysa. Nasca wore a Jim Brown jersey as he played against Cribbs twice -- once one-on-one.

"I think it's awesome that we support our troops whenever possible," Chrysa Nasca said. "He was loving it."

Ha, that's awesome man. Glad to see our boys have been the only ones to win so far. And damn Brodney, how much gaming do you do? Kicking ass right there, 125-7? Nice.

That's what people in the gaming community called owned.

125-7 that's not owned, that's pwnage