20 QUESTIONS WITH FAIRDALE KINGS
Interviewed by Odogg
Xbox 360 free NCAA Football 09 rosters creator.
There are two kinds of sports gamers. The first is what we call the casual gamer. The second is what is known in the community as the hardcore gamer. This article is probably going to appeal to the latter. As a hardcore gamer we all are always looking for ways to make our games more realistic, whether it’s adjusting sliders or naming our rosters so that instead of hearing “#28 runs for a TD!” we hear “Wells runs for a TD!”. Who amongst us really wants to look at rows of endless numbers when we can see the real players in our game? The fact is that most of us love having the real players in our game but don’t love the process of inputting the thousands of names to get those names into our games. Well that is where Fairdale Kings comes in. If you’re a member of the NCAA community and you do NOT enjoy spending days on end typing in countless names, but you do enjoy playing with said names, then you no doubt have heard of the name Fairdale Kings when it comes to rosters for the NCAA football series.
As one of the premier roster makers in the community I have personally known Fairdale for a few years. Like many of you I thought he just bought the game, input the rosters and that was that. There is a lot more to it than that though (as you will see). There is a lot of preparation and behind the scenes things that go on that I found fascinating as I got to know Victor better. I recently sat down with Fairdale Kings, real name Victor Vasquez, and did some Q&A so that the community could get to know the man and the process behind the rosters just a little bit better. I’d like to express my personal appreciation for Victor agreeing to spend the time in this interview to kind of pull back the curtain for the community and let us learn more about the roster creation and distribution process.
A little background before we begin 20 questions though. The first part of Victor’s nickname that we all know him by, Fairdale Kings, comes from the fact that he hails from Fairdale, Kentucky, a small city in southern Louisville. The second part of that nickname comes from the fact that in NCAA there was always a generic team in the Create-a-Team mode called the Kings. Combine those and you have Fairdale Kings. He’s 34, has been married for eight years and has two children (both fans of NCAA by the way!). He not only is a fan of Louisville on Saturdays, he also graduated last year with a Bachelors degree in English. He is still attending Louisville and working toward a degree in education. And Victor doesn’t just play football on his Xbox; he’s also been an Assistant High School football coach for the past 14 years. And in an interesting note about his high school coaching career: he coached current NFL player and Cincinnati Bengal fullback Jeremi Johnson, a fact which I found really interesting. And now that you have a little bit of background on Fairdale Kings we can begin our 20 questions.
Where did you come up with the name Fairdale Kings?
I’ve been using the FAIRDALE KINGS moniker online since 2002. The name originated from the Create-a-Team days on Madden and/or NCAA Football. There was always a generic team named the KINGS… so I took my hometown Fairdale and always created the Fairdale Kings. That name carried over and became my online persona.
Why do you do the rosters?
I do the rosters for myself. I can NOT play an NCAA Football game without having every player named. It’s a bonus that I am able to share the rosters with the community.
When did you first complete an entire roster set and do you recall if you distributed that set to the NCAA community?
I began editing players on NCAA Football 99 during the original PlayStation era. I remember you could save 12 teams to each roster file. I think that I had ten memory cards full of roster files. I would share all my hard work with my buddies and they would share the roster files with their friends at college. With the debut of NCAA Football 2003 on the Xbox console I began distributing my roster file to the NCAA community.
How long before the game is actually out do you start the process of preparing to do the rosters?
I begin preparing for the rosters in early May.... two full months before the game actually releases. This year I have collected a spring media guide with roster information for all 120 Division I-A football teams. I try to get access to the same type of resources that EA will be using to formulate their roster base. That information is usually taken directly from the spring rosters.
Do you write, call and/or email the schools and ask for information?
In the past I’ve actually had to email some schools and request spring media guides, rosters and depth charts. This year I was given press credentials to use the official football media website and access to all 120 Division I-A spring media guides.
How do guides like Phil Steele’s and Athlon’s figure into your rosters, if at all?
I purchase all seven regional magazines that Athlon Sports releases every year as well as purchasing the national editions released by Phil Steele, Lindy’s and Athlon. I use these annual magazines to compliment the spring media guides that are issued by each team. I try to use as many resources as possible to my advantage.
How early do you typically get the game and do you get it from EA directly?
I typically receive the game one week before the “official” release date. I actually received NCAA Football 06 directly from EA because I was a member of the community leader’s program. Recently I haven’t heard anything from anyone associated with EA.
Do you play the game at all during the creation of the rosters process?
I will not play the game at all until I have completed the roster process. Once I am in the lab and begin working on the rosters I am in the zone and I have one goal… name every player on the roster file.
What do you believe is the toughest part of doing the rosters?
Probably the sleep deprivation. I will work almost non-stop for four or five days before I begin to crash.
Do you ever edit attributes and/or equipment in addition to names?
The only thing that I edit is the names. My objective is to accurately name the default rosters. I will edit one player’s equipment for the sole purpose of identifying my roster file and making it unique. This Easter egg is then shared with the various NCAA community leaders.
How do you prepare your work area for the roster input week? Do you buy a lot of Mountain Dew and snacks? Do you do anything special for your room setup in general?
I do make a few special arrangements to the lab. The most important thing is that I have to be comfortable. I edit the rosters on a 42” HDTV and usually have a 32” HDTV that I play movies on. Those late nights can become very long and the movies prevent me from going crazy. During those really long nights I drink a few cups of coffee.
What do your wife and kids do during the time you are working on the rosters?
They stay as far away from me as possible. (LOL) My wife is pretty understanding and she usually takes the kids outside to play. They will spend a lot of time in the swimming pool, too. For four or five days I’m isolated from the world including my family.
Related to the last question what do they think of you spending all of this time on a video game?
My wife has always been very supportive of my love for the NCAA Football series. My eight year-old son loves playing NCAA Football, too. During the process of inputting player names he will always ask me, “Are you almost finished, dad?” He’s dying to use the rosters just like the rest of the NCAA gaming community.
Do you still get joy out of doing this or is it more of a “habit” because you’re “the roster guy” and it’s expected from you by the NCAA community?
I love editing rosters. I would not put forth so much time if I did not enjoy what I was doing. If it ever became a job I’m not sure that I would do it anymore. Regardless if anyone else ever used my rosters I would be putting forth the same effort for my own personal roster file.
Do you ever feel like giving up and simply not finishing? What keeps you going?
With over ten years of experience editing rosters I have never felt the urge to give up or quit. I can not play the game without knowing the name of each player. That motivation drives me to complete the process of typing in over 8,000 player names. The joy that I feel when I can finally play the game each year is unreal.
About how many total hours from start to finish do you guesstimate that you put in on the rosters in regards to actually physically typing them into the 360? And what is the most hours in a row do you recall that you’ve ever just sit and typed the rosters in?
I will physically type in player names for 80-120 hours. On average it usually takes twenty minutes to name every player for one team. If I can edit a team in fifteen minutes I am in the zone. During the course of editing rosters for NCAA Football ‘07 I actually edited rosters for twenty-eight hours straight. I actually completed the rosters four days before the game was “officially” released that year.
From hearing the same NCAA menu music all the time do you ever get to the point where you are humming the songs without even realizing it?
The very first thing that I do is turn all menu music OFF. Those songs will wear on you if you have to listen to them over and over again.
If someone doesn’t have the internet at home, how does that person get the rosters for his 360/PS3?
If you do not have the equipment to download rosters from the internet or if you don’t have access to the EA Locker there are still options available. You can mail your memory card to me and I will transfer the rosters to the memory card OR you can purchase a memory card directly from me.
About how many memory cards would you say you process each year?
I processed over 1,500 memory cards last year. From that number probably one-third was memory cards purchased directly from me. My local post office loves me.
Is there an estimated time frame this summer for your rosters to release?
I hope to have my rosters completed by the July 15th release date. Of course, that will depend on whether or not I receive an early copy of the game again this year. That is never a guarantee. For the past three years I’ve been lucky and my contacts have made sure that I’ve had the game early. I’m keeping my fingers crossed this year.
Have you ever heard from EA about your rosters or your work on their product?
No. I have never had any contact with anybody employed by EA. I would love to visit Tiburon Studios in Orlando and talk to the producers and play the early version of the game. My old website had over 20,000 registered members and I leaked information on the game before any other site and yet I could never receive an invite to a Community Leader’s Day. I envy those guys that play the early build of the game.
You have a new website, can you tell us a little bit about it and its status? Can people go there now and sign up yet?
The new website is Fairdale-Kings.com and I will be continuously updating the site until NCAA Football ‘09 is released on July 15th. The site will provide relevant information regarding how to acquire rosters this summer. In the past everyone has downloaded my rosters using a Datel Transfer Kit or used the memory card method. This year EA has incorporated the EA Locker method. Beginning this year you can enter my Xbox Live gamertag, FAIRDALE KINGS, and access my roster files through the EA server. It has never been easier to enjoy my rosters for exhibition games, dynasty mode or competing online.
Do you have anything in general you want to say to the community?
I just want to thank the community for their continued support over the years. I also want to remind everyone to update their bookmarks and add Fairdale-Kings.com to your list of favorites. REMEMBER: There are free roster services available. Don’t be misled by individuals that charge $20 to mail-in a memory card or to download rosters created by myself. I’m always glad to accept a donation for my time but there are no hidden charges or fees to obtaining my rosters. FAIRDALE KINGS is the trusted name concerning free NCAA Football rosters every year. I look forward to seeing many of you on the virtual gridiron again this year.
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