Prologue: The Dawn of a New Quest
In the mystical, electrified universe of NFL Blitz 2000 for the Nintendo 64, a storm of competition was gathering on the horizon. This realm, a grand coliseum where mega-titans dueled with thunderous fury and where triumphs were etched in the annals of glory, was on the verge of welcoming an enigmatic and unprecedented gladiator—one whose fiery ambition and masterful prowess were poised to ignite the most exhilarating showdown of an era.
In the early days of the Age of Blitz Speedrunning, when the fields of competition were young and unexplored, there began a quest most arduous and full of peril. The journey for >4 was truly heralded by the Divine Three: Retro_Smitty, no_ice_5, and IkePrewii whose stature in the realm of the gridiron transcended mere fame or victory. Like great captains of old, they trod uncharted lands, forging a road with hands skilled not in the arts of war, but in the mastery of joystick and button. They ventured into territories unbound by precedent, wielding innovative techniques with relentless dedication, sculpting the very bedrock of modern blitz speedrunning. Without these trailblazers, the community would wander, lost in a wilderness of uncertainty, their paths concealed in shadow. Yet the beacon lit by Smitty, no_ice_5, and IkePrewii shines bright, a signal fire on the distant hill, inspiring the hearts of all who dare to follow, guiding them in the pursuit of excellence, in the boundless fields of pixels and pigskins.
Ages after the Divine Three enflamed the torch of destiny, a new contender emerged. LUMBERAMERICA, a name hitherto unknown in the sacred halls of speedrunning, had been anointed and verified, his entry accompanied by the jubilant symphony of eager discussion and chivalrous rivalry. It was a dimension where milliseconds bore the weight of eternity, where an alchemy of precision, tactics, and indomitable resolve could elevate one to the pantheon of legends or relegate them to the shadows of oblivion.
The arena of NFL Blitz was no sanctuary for the weak-willed. Every game, every maneuver was a titanic struggle of intellect and instinct. The record for the original Blitz N64 stood as a scorching 4:27, a zenith sculpted by the revered no_ice_5, a fleeting moment in time born of immaculate artistry and the benevolence of the capricious RNG deities.
Yet, LUMBERAMERICA was unshaken. This ambitious neophyte was ravenous, fueled by a relentless thirst to demonstrate his mettle and to transcend the very idea of conceivable achievement. A torrent of dialogue swelled regarding the rules, the very essence of the challenge—was it a crucible of unadulterated skill, or could the arcane powers of cheats and tailored playbooks be invoked to reach the coveted finish line with unparalleled haste? The community, as a unified legion, convened, sculpting fresh classifications and pioneering novel ways to engage, outdo, and inspire one another.
The anticipation was almost tactile, a living, breathing entity. Records were not merely vanquished; they were annihilated, obliterated. A staggering 4:22 on Blitz 2000 resonated like an echoing thunderclap, sending shockwaves through the very core of the community. The ecstasy of the hunt, the fraternal bonds, the ceaseless odyssey towards flawlessness—it was the heartbeat of a transcendent pursuit.
However, as accolades crumbled and the community flourished, a melancholic longing lingered, a wistful nostalgia for a golden age when Blitz was the behemoth of speedruns. While some had receded, ensnared by life's inexorable demands, others were quietly entranced by the relentless grind, their gaze unwaveringly affixed to the holy grail: the sub-four-minute conquest.
But within the march towards supremacy lay ephemeral moments of levity and caprice. Dialogues surrounding in-game subterfuges, imaginative strategies, and the whimsical charms of grandiose character features stirred laughter and smiles. The community transcended competition; it was a kinship, a harmonious fellowship bound by a shared devotion.
The journey was a crucible. It bore the scars of struggle and ecstasy, defeat and victory. The path to immortality was littered with trials, yet the community's spirit remained resilient, unbreakable.
As LUMBERAMERICA ventured further into the labyrinthine of Blitz, unearthing speedrun strats and pioneering new tactics, the community remained steadfast, bestowing support, sage counsel, and camaraderie.
Within the pixelated amphitheater of virtuality, a novel, mythic quest was awakened. It was a pursuit that soared beyond games and milestones. It was an epic tale of valor, friendship, and the quintessence of the human spirit's unyielding aspiration to challenge, to triumph, to transcend.
The stage was anointed, the gladiators primed, the world held its collective breath. Let the legendary quest for B2K64 under 4....commence!
Chapter 1: Songs from the Sacred Cartridge
In the roaring stadiums of yore, where the clash of helmets and the thunderous applause of fans once filled the air, a new battle took shape—one unlike any other. A battle not of flesh and bone, but of unending glory. A battle of speedrunning NFL Blitz 2000 for N64, and the quest for the sub-four-minute run.
This tale began with a gift, a gesture of camaraderie. LUMBERAMERICA, in his magnanimity, bestowed upon Retro_Smitty a copy of the sacred cartridge, NFL Blitz 2000 for N64. For Smitty had but a Dreamcast version, and this gift would level the playing field, bringing the titans closer to their shared goal.
Smitty & LUMBER entered the virtual arena, renowned for their mastery of the game, seeking a spot in the only history book that matters- speedrun.com. These juggernauts, friends, yet rivals, were bound by a competitive spirit that drove them to the very brink of human capability.
The gauntlet was thrown, the battle lines drawn. The discord reverberated with words of encouragement, playful jabs, and a growing anticipation for the clash of the titans.
"Here we go!" exclaimed LUMBERAMERICA, his excitement palpable.
"Will do," responded Retro_Smitty, a smile hidden behind the text.
LUMBERAMERICA was certainly confused by that, but he decided not to dwell on it.
The clash began with Smitty’s record-breaking run of 4:08, an earth-quaking time.
"Let the grind begin, sir," he declared, eyes twinkling with determination.
LUMBERAMERICA was not to be outdone. He retaliated with a world record of 4m7s, a difference so minuscule, so infinitesimal that it shook the very fabric of the competition.
And so the battle raged on, with records being broken and set anew. Each victory was met with congratulations, each defeat with resolve to push further, faster, and faster, and faster. The quest for the sub-four-minute run had become a dance of milliseconds, a game of virtual inches.
But amidst the glory and the fame, a shadow of doubt began to creep into LUMBERAMERICA's mind. The runs were too close, the difference too slight. Was this victory true? Was this competition fair? He questioned the subjective nature of the final tap, the possibility of invalidation, the honor in such a narrow win.
And it is here that LUMBERAMERICA made the biggest mistake of his career (so far). He withheld a world record tape. He waited for someone to beat his published record so that, within hours of being beaten, LUMBER could upload his better score and regain the record. LUMBER's mind was twisted by competition and he realized it after submitting his run. He knew that was he did was not only wrong and unsportsmanlike, it went against everything that friendships he had built along the way stand for. He needed to say something. He went to the Discord channel, explained his wrongdoings, and repented.
"I felt like I was being uncool," he admitted, a pang of conscience echoing in his words.
The Pigskin Enigma had become a moral dilemma, a challenge not only of skill but of integrity. But there amongst the confusion and drama, a hero stood, strong and wise. It was none other than rbi_smitty (retro_smitty), the beacon of wisdom and clarity.
"Never doubt that. We ain't weird here. Clear winning time is clear winning time," he proclaimed, his words resounding with a hammer smack of truth. The victory was genuine, the win unquestionable (except for the fact that the run was verified yet so it didn't technically count yet). And there, standing shoulder to shoulder with rbi_smitty in affirmation, was no_ice_5, reinforcing the sentiment with a simple yet powerful,
"^ all of this."
The duo's collective wisdom quashed any lingering doubts, silencing the uncertainty with a shared conviction. They were united in their pursuit, bound by a common understanding that the challenge was pure, the competition fair. The conversation laid bare the true nature of their rivalry, a complex tapestry of ambition, virtue, and friendship. It was more than a game; it was a testament to human connection, to the purity of competition, the acquisition and manifestation of wisdom through trial/success/failure, and to the unbreakable bond that can form between true warriors of virtual astroturf.
It was here that the true essence of the competition had been revealed, not in the records or the runs, but in the mutual respect, the shared sincerity, and the unbreakable bond of sportsmanship. The quest for the sub-four-minute run had become a symbol of something far greater, a testament to the human spirit's unyielding pursuit of excellence.
Together, they would face this insurmountable challenge. For The sacred Cartridge had not yet sung its last song, and indeed the next chapter awaited, filled with the promise of partnership and the relentless pursuit of the unattainable. The quest for the sub-four-minute run was not over; it had merely evolved. In unity, the speedunning megatitans would confront the hardest runs of their lives, driven by the unending desire to push the boundaries of pixels and pigskins.
The true battle had only just begun.
Chapter 2: A Victory in Limbo
It had been a year. The forums had gone quiet, the grind was all but lost...but while LUMBERAMERICA slumbered, he dreamed of that sub 4min run. In October of 2024, the speedrun gods re-awoke LUMBER's conviction by manifesting themselves in the spirit of LUMBER's lifelong friend, Migal. Migal believed in LUMBERAMERICA, Migal had seen LUMBER's grind, skills, commitment, and grit. The Blitz gods know that records can only be broken by strengthening the bonds of friendship, and so Migal did just that. Migal watched LUMBER's livestreams, provided expert analysis of record-breaking runs, formulated, postulated, hypothesized, and above all else, Migal reminded LUMBER about the true meaning of friendship. And so, with the support of Migal in his heart, LUMBERAMERICA plugged in his N64, blew on the Blitz 2000 cartridge and, with a deep breathe of determination, flicked on the power switch. Game on.
Minutes turned to hours, hours to days. LUMBERAMERICA was grinding. The competition was on. And then something happened...
The air was thick with tension as LUMBERAMERICA was approaching the conclusion of a personal best run. He gazed at the final seconds ticking down, his hands steady but his heart pounding. Every move had led to this moment—a run so fast, so near-perfect, it felt as though the very gods of NFL Blitz 2000 had guided his every play. With a final breathless incomplete pass, the game’s conclusion flashed before him: the ball bounced, the ingame clock ticked to 0:00.
LUMBERAMERICA sat frozen before his screen, his heart pounding louder than the in-game crowd that had just witnessed his final play. The timer on the game had hit 0:00, the ball had gone dead, and with it, the whirlwind of his NFL Blitz 2000 speedrun should have come to a triumphant end. 3 minutes, 59 seconds.
But his Livesplit timer—his faithful companion throughout every millisecond of this run—was still ticking.
"No..." he muttered, fingers frozen over the keyboard. The rush of adrenaline from his seemingly record-breaking performance was now clashing with a cold wave of realization. The speedrun had ended when the game declared it was over, just as the rules demanded. Yet here was this cursed timer, mocking him as it continued counting, even though the clock had hit zero, and the ball was dead.
For a brief, painful moment, his mind raced through the rules, replaying them like a broken record: Timer starts when you pick your team and ends when the clock hits 0 in the fourth quarter and the ball is dead. He knew them by heart—he had studied them, obsessed over them. By those rules, the run was legitimate. The game was over when the ball was dead, the timer should have stopped then. And yet, here it was, the Livesplit timer still running, giving the false impression that the run had continued longer than it should have.
The tension thickened. Was this a technicality that would disqualify his run? Would the speedrun community, strict as they were, deem it invalid simply because the external timer didn’t stop at the precise moment the ball hit the ground? In his gut, LUMBERAMERICA knew the truth. The run had ended when it was supposed to. He had fulfilled every condition required by the rules. But would the moderators see it the same way?
"I missed the split time! I didn't hit the button. Aw can play I the- aww..I need to review that tape. Awww. I need to review that tape."
He sighed, his fingers finally moving to take a screenshot of the in-game clock when the ball had gone dead. It was an attempt to preserve the moment, to argue that the run was over when the game declared it, not when his hands had failed to stop the timer in time.
The last words lingered, and for a moment, a calm settled over him. Whether or not the mods approved this run, whether the leaderboard reflected this glorious sub-four-minute achievement, he knew now that it was real. He had shattered his own expectations, pushing past every obstacle, and proven to himself that a sub-4-minute run was possible. The thrill of that truth was enough to sustain him, even as the specter of rejection loomed over his hard-earned victory.
He paused again, as if speaking directly to the community that had been with him through every grind, every failure, and every breakthrough. He wrote: "Shoutout to Retro_Smitty for helping shape my strats, meta, and approach. And big thanks to Migal for his support, ideas, and strategies—this speedrun wouldn’t have happened without him."
These weren’t just words of gratitude—they were a recognition of the camaraderie that had brought him this far. Speedrunning wasn’t a solitary endeavor; it was a shared passion, one where strategies were passed like ancient knowledge, and encouragement kept you pushing through the most grueling runs. Retro_Smitty, Migal, no_ice_5, pajamas, and superfish—they had all played their part, and now, it was up to the community to decide whether his run would join the ranks of Blitz legends.
But even as uncertainty gnawed at the edges of his triumph, LUMBERAMERICA’s resolve remained unshaken. If the mods deemed this run invalid, he would accept it. But he wouldn’t stop. He had already proven to himself that the sub-four-minute run was within reach, and if he had to grind through countless more attempts, so be it.
He would make it official.
With one final breath, he submitted the run, knowing that the dice had been cast. Whether it would be accepted or denied was out of his hands now, but in his heart, LUMBERAMERICA knew the truth.
This was his victory. And if it wasn’t written into the annals of speedrun.com today, he would carve it into history himself tomorrow.
Chapter 3: Victory Sealed.
460 attempts. That’s what it had taken.
Over those hundreds of tries, LUMBERAMERICA had seen every conceivable heartbreak an NFL Blitz 2000 speedrun could throw at him. There were runs that collapsed right on the cusp of victory, those where he’d pushed so close he could practically taste that sub-four finish, only to cave under the mounting pressure. Each time he made it to halftime with a clean lead, his pulse would spike, his breath would hitch, and the sheer gravity of his pace would descend on him like a weight. He could feel his heart pounding in his throat, his focus starting to splinter, and before he knew it, a slight slip or a mistimed move would send the run spiraling off course.
But the setbacks taught him resilience. With every near-miss, he grew more familiar with the feeling of pressure clawing at him, the adrenaline surging with every play. It was exposure to the extreme. Each failure wore him down in one way and built him up in another, refining his nerve, helping him face down that roaring heartbeat and find a way to keep calm, to tune out everything but the split-second decisions before him.
And so, run by run, LUMBERAMERICA pushed himself to the limit. It wasn’t about luck or even pure talent anymore—it was grit. Every attempt, every failure, had sharpened his focus, bracing him for the perfect run that had finally come to him.
Then it happened: 3 minutes, 58 seconds.
The moment unfolded like a dream. The first half went off without a hitch, clean and fast. As he crossed into the second half, the familiar surge of adrenaline came—but this time, it couldn’t shake him. His movements were steady, his breathing controlled, every pass and every tackle landing with the precision of practiced skill. He felt a calm wash over him as the clock ticked down. Fourth quarter. The final seconds drained away, and he anticipated the end of the play, ready to hit his LiveSplit timer when the ball went dead. And with the confidence of an eagle, he tapped his timer. He glanced up to see the final time. 3:58, clear as day.
LUMBERAMERICA’s heart raced, but this time, it was with triumph, not tension. He had done it. The elusive sub-four-minute mark that had danced just out of reach for so long was his.
Pride surged in his chest as he prepared the submission. He took a final look at the timer, triple-checking the footage with the grin of someone who knew he had earned every second of it. After the repeated heartbreaks, the near-misses, and the crushing moments of pressure, he’d beaten the game—and himself. This run was for everyone who had stood by him, his friends, his fellow speedrunners, and for the LUMBERAMERICA who, 460 attempts ago, had set out on a journey to prove that 3 minutes and 58 seconds was possible.
And now, as he submitted his run, he believed in his heart that this one would hold. This was the run that would finally earn him his place on the leaderboard, etched in the records as not only the fastest NFL Blitz 2000 finish he had ever achieved at the time, but the first person in NFL Blitz 2000 history to break the 4 minute barrier.
And with that, LUMBERAMERICA is signing off....for now.
Epilogue
What you are about to read are posts from LUMBERAMERICA's speedrun records. They come from his obsoleted runs (old world records). Consider this a collection of his lost tapes. Enjoy.
LUMBERAMERICA's 4m 19s on Jul 24, 2023
The beginning of a new era
Ladies and gentleman. I grant you this celebration for I have indeed triumphed in but a small battle in this war, however this is not the time to rest.
It is time to pursue the sub four minute run.
It will not be easy.. no....some say it's impossible, but to that I say nay. Some believe the goal of 3'59" (or less) is an insurmountable titan, towering above us all. But I stand before you today, resolute and unwavering, to declare that I SAY NAY! We are now on the precipice of a new horizon in speedrunning history- the sub-four-minute mark in NFL Blitz 2000.
And so, let the battle horn of my challenge sound, let it reverberate across the plains of doubt. For I shall not rest...very much... until I or someone shatters the chains of impossibility, until the impossible itself trembles at our approach, until we break the secrets of our quest for the quickest quarters.
Indeed, it will be hard. The game has four one minute quarters and while it's true that the ingame clock's seconds run faster than realtimes clocks...there are transitionsand I don't know if there are tricks for skipping them and there's the play selection screen, all eating up valuable time. I've founding that button mashing sometimes helps skip touchdown animations and post-play camera movement, but it's not reliable. Sometimes it skips nearly immediatly, other times it doesn't. This leads me to believe that there is some kind of realiable skip, but I don't know the combo. If there is a combo, it might just be enough that, when paired with a perfect run, one might be able to achieve a sub 4 minute run. This is the goal: find that combo and continue refining the consistency. I believe...no...i know it is possible to get a sub 4 minute run. Let the games begin.
—LUMBERAMERICA
LUMBERAMERICA's 4m 12s on Jul 29, 2023
LIghts out baby!
We now have a glimpse of what sub 4 minute runs might look like.
Did I get a sub minute run? No, I could only achieve a 4m 12s run...but the split times on the second and third quarter say it all- this is the pace we've been searching for. Just a little faster with the animation skips and a little better RNG (which, in Blitz, is asking a lot) and we'll have our sub 4 minute run.
Join me in this most ultimate quest for eternal glory.
New Animation Skip Technique?
In this video, skip to 12 seconds. Notice that I mash A and B, the opponent scores, and the animations are skipped pretty fast. I think this could be perfected...try it and report back.
This technique is also used in this very world record speed run (video timestamped here), thus proving the value of the technique.
- LUMBERAMERICA
LUMBERAMERICA's 4m 7s on Aug 8, 2023
LUMBERAMERICA IS HOLDING ON FOR DEAR LIFE - 4m 7s
After the legendary retro_smitty crushed my world record with a brilliant 4m 8s, I set fourth to reclaim my title. Minutes turned to hours and I was sweating through it all. Game after game, failure after failure, millisecond after millisecond, I grinded through the RNG like I've never grinded before. Then finally the Blitz Gods granted me a way to reach a lower time.....and thus grand and elusive Blitz 2000 N64 Win a Game speedrun was mine.
THE QUEST FOR THE SUB-4m RUN CONTINUES
-LUMBERAMERICA
