Registration is now open for the annual USO and NFL Salute to Service Showdown, now in its fourth year. The showdown is an EA Sports Madden NFL 25 tournament open to active-duty, reserve and National Guard service members who will compete in a series of qualifying rounds for the chance to attend the real-world Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
The USO opened registration for this year's Salute to Service Showdown on Aug. 30, 2024. Competing players can register for their respective online and in-person qualifying rounds on the registration website. Be sure to check the qualifier locations and start dates for more details. The first round is a qualifier for those stationed aboard U.S. Navy aircraft carriers through the USO's ship-based centers, a first for the tournament, and begins Sept. 9.
The field will be whittled down as the NFL season progresses. The top eight winning service members will win travel and accommodations to Tampa Bay's Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 10. While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers battle it out on the gridiron, Salute to Service Showdown participants will compete for a trip to Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, 2025.
The United States is a big country, filled with a lot of diverse people and even more diverse cultures -- just look at how different New Orleans is from New Mexico. As the country itself gets more diverse, so does the U.S. military. But despite our differences, nothing brings Americans together like football season can. The proof is in the list of the most watched television broadcasts of all time: Among the top 25, only six have nothing to do with football. America had to go to the moon to get a larger audience than the Super Bowl.
The Salute to Service Showdown seeks to unite the military community through the fun of football and gaming, using one of the best-selling sport video-game franchises of all time: Madden NFL.
"My dad is the one who got me into Madden. He put a controller in my hand, and I've held onto it ever since," 2023 Salute to Service Showdown finalist U.S. Space Force Guardian Ryan Cabase said at last year's championship. "He'd whoop my butt in Madden back in the day."
Madden NFL first premiered in 1988 as "John Madden Football" on home PCs and Apple computers. It became "Madden NFL" in 1993 and has sold more than 130 million copies worldwide, as of 2018. The game has also appeared on nearly every single gaming platform released since 1989.
Since 45% of U.S. service members are gamers, it's no wonder the Salute to Service Showdown is the highlight of the USO's gaming program. Video games, the nonprofit finds, help military members deal with the stress of military life, help deployed troops connect with loved ones back home and aid veterans in coping with combat-induced trauma.
"I represented the Space Force when I played 'Halo' at a competitive level, and I came out of it meeting three other Space Force people, ... and two of them happened to be stationed at the same base I was. We've been friends ever since," Cabase told the USO.
To register for the USO and NFL Salute to Service Showdown, visit the USO's registration website.
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