I must admit that ever since 1996, when Sports Interactive’s game was known as Championship Manager, I am a huge fan of the game. And the addiction got bigger and bigger as the years passed by and the new features kept rolling in. Today we have hundreds of thousands of players featured in Football Manager 2009, incredible realism, a good visual match engine (good to start with, at least) and tons of fans out there.

I’m one of the losers at Football Manager 2009. Although I love the game and I play it as often as I can, although I do my best in lining up the best 11, getting the best players to play for my club and making the fans proud, I generally fail. So, right before losing my minds, I start googling for the best Football Manager 2009 tactics, the best players, tips and advice and so on – just like every FM fan ever did.

During one of my long visits to various websites I have always stumbled upon blogs from dedicated gamers – people like you and me, people with jobs and families, but with a great passion for Football Manager 2009. People who took their addiction to the next level and started blogging about it. Started to compete against them, started to challenge their skills and ultimately prove that they can defeat the odds and “win” the game – whatever if that means getting at number one in the top richest clubs or winning the Champions League.

There are tons of such blogs out there, tons of them being dedicated to this great football simulation title we all know as Football Manager 2009. But, for one reason or another, I have become a fan of one of the smallest (and unfortunately also one of the least updated) blogs: Everything Football Manager.

Apart from various tips regarding tactics, youngsters and valuable players, the owner of the blog posts updates on his own so called “Ultimate” Football Manager challenge (although I never really got to know what it refers to). One thing is clear: he became the manager of a low-league Italian team and kept working hard, managing to get it two divisions up in three seasons (if I’m not mistaking). But not the performance itself is what matters now, although it’s clearly something to notice.

What struck me about this player (as it happened with other similar blogs) was the dude’s dedication. His concern for his players, his desire to do good, his option to invest emotion, to really care about a video game. He writes about players he buys, players he sells, he posts about results and standings, just as you would expect to see on a real sports website. But this is just about his team. His piece of a world, his challenge.

And that, my friends, is something which should be appreciated. Something which makes games such an interesting, special and lovable piece of entertainment. Because real hardcore fans are born. Because ultimate gamers are born. Because we care. And no matter if it’s Football Manager 2009, as it happens now, or we’re talking about any other game, I’m sure you all have your own special game you could write blogs about, investing emotion and time just for the joy of playing.

So if you do have a fan blog dedicated to a specific title, please send me an e-mail using the contact form on Unigamesity and I’ll certainly pay it a visit. Who knows, maybe I will even write about your awesome blog, here, too! Because as long as you do it with dedication, it’s worth letting the world know about it!