When you mention the “American Pastime,” some people will think that you’re referring to baseball, one of the most boring sports in the world. When I think of our pastime, I think of video games, and how much of my life has been spent playing them. Video games have had a very long and fulfilling history, as most anyone would be able to tell you. Now two main figures in that history are a pair of the most influential icons of said history: Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog.

For the uninformed, Mario and Sonic are the mascots of Nintendo and Sega, respectively. For years now, they’ve been in some of the most classic and memorable games of all-time, from Sonic CD and Sonic Adventure 2, to Super Mario World and Super Mario 64. People have always dreamed that they would one day cross paths, but the sad truth was that since they were company mascots, it was not to be. This year, however, things change.

It has recently been announced that Sonic and Mario, for the first time ever, will appear in the same game, competing against one another. The game is called “Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games,” and it is slated for a 2007 holiday release on the Wii. For old-school gamers, this is a momentous announcement. I mean two bitter rivals now on the same system? Who would’ve thought that something like this was even possible? If I were to travel back in time and tell my younger, less awesome self that Sonic and Mario would be in a game together, my younger self would more than likely call me some odd name, and run away. But that’s beside the point; the point is that this is a very big deal.

The only thing that could ruin this is if Sonic Team, the name of the team of developers who is working on it, and who has worked on previous Sonic games, messes it up. I know that I’m also not the only one who has this fear. Recently, Sonic Team hasn’t exactly made a lot of gems, and it is this that has me a bit worried. If this game were to fail, it would shatter my hopes. It was always one of my dreams to have these two iconic characters come together in one way or another, but I don’t want this game to be bad. It would hurt me way too much.

Here’s hoping that my fears will be put to rest this year when the game is released. Sonic Team, I’m counting on you. Don’t let me and millions of other fans down.