NORFOLK, Va. - Since Christopher Goodman Jr. was a kid, football has been part of his life.
Although, nowadays, he takes his football talent to the virtual playing field.
The Virginia Beach native joins 15 other HBCU gamers playing in the NFL's inaugural Madden NFL 21 x HBCU Tournament Finals, where there are thousands of dollars on the line.
Goodman, who's representing the Spartans, is confident he has what it takes to be crowned a champion, saying, "I definitely feel prepared that I definitely can make a run for it," and he's got plenty of winning experience to back that confidence up.
Goodman has been playing video games since he was a kid, but it wasn't until his high school years at Landstown when he made the jump to the esports world.
"I was on the football team in high school too, so it was kinda hard to balance playing sports and video games competitively too," Goodman said. "I had the opportunity to go to a final four [esports] championship. I had a football scrimmage the same day so I couldn't go to the tournament 'cause I had to go to the football scrimmage instead, so I missed out on a great opportunity."
Goodman no longer misses out on those esports opportunities, the latest being Saturday's Madden NFL 21 x HBCU Tournament Finals, where he could not only pick up a victory for himself, but Norfolk State as well.
"Amazing to be honest with you," Goodman said about the opportunity. "I never thought I'd actually get the chance to represent my school and to be able to bring a championship to them. It definitely means the world to me and I'm definitely excited to make a name for myself."
