Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow reveals his Super Smash Bros Ultimate main and gaming habits
NFL Stars and Gaming Culture
The intersection of professional sports and gaming continues to grow, with Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow joining the ranks of NFL athletes who openly embrace video games. Unlike traditional perceptions of athletes’ leisure activities, gaming has become a legitimate form of team bonding and mental preparation for many professional sports teams.
Professional athletes across the NFL have integrated gaming into their routines, with Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill discussing his Warzone 2 experiences and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray building a significant presence in the Call of Duty streaming community.
What makes Burrow’s gaming habits particularly interesting is their timing and purpose. The Bengals organization has turned Saturday night flights into impromptu gaming sessions, using Super Smash Bros Ultimate as both entertainment and team chemistry builder. This approach mirrors how esports teams utilize bonding activities, suggesting a convergence of traditional sports and gaming mental preparation techniques.
Burrow’s Gaming Preferences Revealed
Through conversations with Cincinnati Bengals beat reporter Ben Baby, Joe Burrow disclosed his specific gaming habits and character preferences. The revelation came as part of broader discussions about how athletes manage downtime during intense NFL seasons.
Burrow’s gaming schedule aligns strategically with his football responsibilities. He specifically mentioned playing Super Smash Bros Ultimate on Saturday night flights to road games, timing these sessions after completing his film study and game preparation work. This suggests a deliberate use of gaming as mental decompression before major contests.
When pressed about his character selection, Burrow unequivocally stated: “I’m a Ness main.” This choice places him among a dedicated subset of Smash Ultimate players who favor the EarthBound representative. Ness mains typically develop sophisticated understanding of spacing, combo potential, and edge-guarding techniques that translate well to competitive play.
Interestingly, Burrow previously surprised fans by naming Star Wars Battlefront as his favorite game of 2023, demonstrating diverse gaming interests beyond the fighting game genre. Both franchises maintain passionate communities despite mixed critical reception for recent entries, suggesting Burrow gravitates toward games with dedicated fan bases.
Mastering Ness: Character Strategy and Tips
For players looking to emulate Burrow’s character choice, understanding Ness’s capabilities and limitations is crucial. Ness ranks as a mid-tier character in competitive Smash Ultimate play, requiring specific technical skills to maximize his potential.
Ness’s PK Fire ability has earned both fame and frustration within the Smash community. When used strategically, PK Fire creates effective zoning and combo initiation opportunities. However, over-reliance on this move represents the most common mistake for developing Ness players. Advanced practitioners learn to mix PK Fire with Ness’s exceptional aerial game, particularly his forward-air and back-air attacks that offer strong combo and kill potential.
Mastering Ness’s recovery represents another critical skill component. His PK Thunder 2 recovery move provides exceptional distance but requires precise directional control. Many novice players struggle with self-inflicted damage from misdirected PK Thunder, while experts use it for both recovery and unexpected offensive maneuvers. The character’s double-jump-canceled aerials also enable advanced combo techniques that separate competitive players from casual users.
Optimal Ness play involves understanding percent-specific combos, particularly down-throw follow-ups that vary based on opponent damage levels. At lower percentages, down-throw into forward-air or up-air strings can build significant damage, while higher percentages enable kill confirms through back-throw at ledge or up-smash reads. Spacing with forward-smash and down-smash also becomes crucial for controlling stage positioning.
Gaming as Mental Preparation
The connection between gaming habits and athletic performance deserves closer examination, particularly as Burrow prepares for high-stakes NFL competitions. His undefeated 3-0 record against Patrick Mahomes suggests mental fortitude that might correlate with his gaming discipline.
As the Bengals travel to face the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game, Burrow’s approach to handling pressure environments becomes increasingly relevant. Gaming provides cognitive benefits including improved reaction time, strategic decision-making under pressure, and emotional regulation—all transferable skills to quarterback performance.
The timing of Burrow’s gaming sessions—after completing football preparation but before game execution—suggests a deliberate mental management strategy. This approach allows for cognitive engagement without the pressure of direct football performance, potentially contributing to his noted composure in critical moments.
Sports psychologists increasingly recognize the value of controlled distraction and cognitive shifting for peak performance. Burrow’s ability to transition between film study, gaming relaxation, and championship football execution demonstrates mental flexibility that may contribute to his success against top opponents like Mahomes and the Chiefs.
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