Game boys: amid blood, sweat, tears and some really sore thumbs, a riveting Madden football championship was decided.(Know It All)

A brisk wind blew from the south on a clear, 70-degree Chicago morning. Perfect football weather, which was nice because at my destination--Navy Pier--football would be the order of the day. Of course, it would turn out to be 11 grueling hours of football. It would be played indoors, in the Pier's Grand Ballroom, on 20 television sets. And the only physical contact would be thumbs on buttons, the only possible injury calloused hands.

This, folks, would be Pac-Man in pads.

Welcome to Madden mania, a celebration of video game addiction--specifically, addiction to EA Sports' venerable John Madden football franchise, the cultural phenomenon that has generated more than 37 million sales in its 15-year history. Within a week of its August 10 release, Madden 2005 had sold an astounding 1.3 million copies, a big number for a game that runs nearly $50.

To mark the release, EA has been organizing tournaments of Maddenites in 32 cities around the country. There are up to 512 players competing in each city (a sweet 16,000 or so in all), and each site's winner will go to Las Vegas to play in a $50,000 tournament in December.

In Chicago, most of the players had shown up by 8 a.m., greeted by two Hyundai-size speakers belting out heavy bass. Above that was the nonstop din of pained shouting, players egging on their pixelized teams. The atmosphere was as soothing as a bladder infection.

As it does at every city it visits, the Madden tournament drew a strange crowd--shaggy-haired kids not far removed from paper routes, parents longingly glancing at the exit doors, portly gents in generously tailored throwback jerseys, grown men with eyes bloodshot from overgaming. There even was--egads!--a female contestant. There were 511 males in Chicago's tournament, and there was Leslie Delatorre of Chicago, who said she does not like football much but loves playing Madden. She wants control over the game. "It makes it more real than watching football on TV," she said.

Right.