The Madden Cover: An Honor or a Curse?

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 2^nd string back.

2013: Calvin Johnson

Calvin Johnson was announced as the Madden 13 cover athlete on April 25^th. 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/