Nothing is
certain but death, taxes, and a new Madden NFL Football game every year. Since
1999 EA has been honoring NFL players who go above and beyond by allowing them
to grace the cover of their insanely popular video game. Every year an athlete
is chosen, an honor amongst players… or is it? Josh Cribbs said “Teams go on
the Wheaties box, but individually, when you make the cover of ‘Madden,’ you’ve
arrived.” But ever since 2004 there have been whispers of a “Madden Curse.” It
is said that whoever has their image put on the cover is to be cursed, either
by injury. The history so far:
1999: Garrison Hearst
This
edition of Madden is where the curse began, as it was the first time in the game’s
history that a player was featured on the cover of Madden. Hearst was the
breakout star of the 49ers. He set the franchise rushing record and helped San
Francisco reach the divisional round of the playoffs. After his appearance on
the cover, Hearst broke his leg causing Hearst to miss the following two
seasons. His career never recovered, making him the curse's first victim.
2000: Barry Sanders/Dorsey
Levens
Sanders was, at the time, considered one of the
greatest backs of all time, and many predicted that he would hold all of the
major rushing records. However, shortly before the 1999 season, Sanders
shockingly announced his retirement from football. His decision caused the
Lions to go into a tailspin from 1999 to 2011. The PAL version of the game had
Packers running back Dorsey Levens on the cover. Though Dorsey managed to go
over 1,000 yards that season, his yards-per-carry average dropped to a
pedestrian 3.7, and the Packers finished the 1999 season at the 0.500 mark,
causing them to miss the post-season.
2001: Eddie George
For a while, it looked like George had beat the curse.
He had career highs in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and yards from
scrimmage. George's misfortune came in the 2000 AFC Divisional game against the
Ravens, where on a last-second drive George bobbled a pass right into the hands
of the eventual Super Bowl MVP Ray Lewis, sealing the Titans' fate. George’s reliable
1,000 yard seasons ceased to exist throughout the remainder of his career.
2002: Daunte Culpepper
Culpepper
had led the Vikings to the NFC championship the season prior to making the
cover. However, early in the 2001 season, Culpepper suffered a knee injury,
ending his season prematurely. While he was able to regain his form the
following two seasons, another knee injury, combined with disappointing stints
with the Dolphins, Raiders, and Lions essentially ended his NFL career.
2003: Marshall Faulk
Faulk
had come of a season where he got over 2000 yards from scrimmage, won the AP
Offensive Player of the Year award, and helped his team reach Super Bowl XXXVI
(Source). Faulk failed to reach the 1,000 yard mark in the 2002 season, while
suffering ankle injuries during that season was well as the following three
seasons, eventually leading to his retirement in 2005.
2004: Michael Vick
After being put onto the cover of
Madden 2004, Michael Vick suffered a broken fibula very early on during a
preseason game against the Ravens. Vick was then sent to prison on charges for
dog fighting.
2005: Ray Lewis
Ray Lewis only missed 2 games at the
end of the 2005 season due to a sprained wrist.
2005 was also the first season that number 52 did not haul in an
interception. The next season, Lewis
broke his leg and didn’t play for most of the season.
2006: Donovan McNabb
In 2006, McNabb tore his ACL while
lunging out of bounds which caused him to miss the rest of the season. Since then, McNabb was traded away by the
Eagles and his career has gone down the toilet.
2007: Shaun Alexander
In 2007, Shaun Alexander broke his
foot and missed half of the season. This
was just a year after he set the NFL all-time record for rushing touchdowns in
a season.
2008: Vince Young
In 2008, Vince Young was on the rise
as an up and coming player. After being
the Madden cover boy, he injured his leg which caused him to miss a game. He turned in an awful season with only 9
touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Young
was let go by the Titans just a few seasons after being on the Madden
cover. He was signed by the Eagles and
threw 4 touchdowns to 9 interceptions.
2009: Brett Favre
Brett Favre
was once one of the highest regarded QBs to ever play in the NFL. Then Madden
2009 rolled around. Favre’s remaining football career was laughable. He played
for both the Jets and Vikings failing with both. He was plagued with injuries
and off-the-field issues in his final year.
2010: Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu
The curse
struck only one of these players this year. Polamalu only played 5 games
because of lingering knee issues, and the Steelers missed the playoffs.
2011: Drew Brees
Individually
he has performed fine. But in 2011 the Saints were upset by the 7-9 Seahawks in
the first round of the playoffs. And now there is the Bountygate scandal which
has significantly affected the Saints.
2012: Peyton Hillis
Hillis busted
on the scene in 2011 and became the first fan-voted athlete on the cover of
Madden. In 2012 Hillis had drama with the Browns management over a new contract
and sat out part of the season with a hamstring issue. Then he got traded to
the Chiefs to be their 2nd string back.
2013: Calvin Johnson
Calvin Johnson
was announced as the Madden 13 cover athlete on April 25th. Are the
Lions scared? More than likely.
With all that said, Charlie still doesn’t believe in
the Madden curse. It is his opinion that the reason a “curse” was even
mentioned is because these players were put into a spotlight for making the
cover and therefore their injuries were more spotlighted. Then, having a
collection of players who happened to be spotlighted and injuries fed the fire.
Matt believes that there is a curse because he is superstitious. The history doesn’t lie and anybody can
search what has happened to these players after they were on the cover. Nobody
knows if this “curse” is because of the players pre-existing knowledge of the
curse and past history, or if there really is something more. Alex thinks that while some might
consider these events as coincidences, these successive unfortunate events to
the Madden cover athletes are the work of the nefarious Madden Curse.
Word Count: 1,103
Sources
- http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=100805/madden
- http://bleacherreport.com/articles/98744-madden-curse-strikes-again-ranking-the-12-curse-victims
- http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/sports/football/browns/is-the-madden-curse-real-lets-look-at-the-history
- http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7405565/after-tough-season-cleveland-browns-peyton-hillis-believer-madden-video-game-curse
- http://www.nfl.com/fantasy/story/09000d5d828994d6/article/megatron-is-the-winner-or-loser-of-the-madden-13-vote
- http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1101289-madden-curse-how-a-video-game-changed-the-lives-of-players-in-the-nfl
- http://www.footballnation.com/content/madden-curse-is-it-real/14446/
