The Madden Curse

Madden is one of the most look-forward-to releases on xbox and PS3 every year, and this year is no exception. Madden has been on the scene for 21 years, and pretty much everyone who is a fan of football or video games has picked it up and played. In order to get shots of all the rookies in their new jerseys, the Madden development team shows up to the annual NFL entry draft. The game has become so popular that tournaments where professionals play head-to-head for loads of money have made it onto television for our viewing pleasure. You may have also heard the term "Madden Holiday"...and it just goes to show how incredibly popular it has become.

 

For all the good that comes with the hype and hysteria of Madden NFL, there is a downfall to the game's yearly release. For the 12 years Madden has been boasing an annual cover athlete, those athletes chosen seem to either play poorly that year, or suffer serious and season-ruining injury.

 

In the first week of the 2009 season, the Madden curse had already reared it's ugly head. For the first time in the series' history, two players graced the cover of Madden NFL 10. Troy Polomalu was shown head-to-head with a man he covered in Super Bowl XLIII; Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals. In the Steelers' first regular season game, and Troy Polomalu's first after being put on the cover of Madden 10, he injured his ankle while blocking a field goal. Without their defensive captain, the Steelers struggled, ceding the AFC North division title to the Bengals.

 

You'd think that the NFL would have leraned it's leason by now. Players a) don't need the money and b) are quite superstitious in the best of times, so you'd think they'd just decline the offer from EA sports. If you don't believe in it yet, just take a look at all the historical evidence of a very real "Madden Curse.".

 

The History of the Madden Curse:

 

2002: Second-year quarterback Daunte Culpepper graced the cover for 2002, but was only able to follow-up an NFC Championship appearance the previous year by missing the final five games of the 2001 season with a knee injury as the Vikings missed the playoffs with a 5-11 record.

 

2003: After being featired as the Madden 03 cover athlete, Rams' running back Marshall Faulk played the whole 2002 season with a naggin ankle problem, and didn't reach his full potential. He failed to rush for 1,000 yards for the first time in 6 years, and the Rams finished the season 7-9. missing the playoffs.

 

2004: Atlanta Falcons franchise QB (and a Madden player's favorite QB at the time) missed the entire 2003 season after gracing the cover of Madden 04. His team finished 5-11 (missing the playoffs of course) without him.

 

2006: Donovan McNabb was honored with a Madden cover appearance after his team made it to the Super Bowl in 2004. The curse struck him next season, and the sports hernai he suffered early in the year caused him to sit out the last 7 games.

 

That's the history of the curse. So, what will happen to this year's cover star?