If EA Sports Calls, Don't Answer

Madden is one of the most look-forward-to releases on xbox and PS3 every year, and this year is no exception. This renowned franchise has been a phenomenon for the past 21 years. 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. Along with the game's popularity has grown a huge pro gaming industry, and now the world's top Madden players can make a living playing in tournaments or even just online. And people are known to come up with every excuse in the book in order to get out of work on the very day the game releases - making it as close to a national holiday as the video game industry is likely to get.

 

You might also think that players are honored and delighted to be featured on the game's cover. In 1999, John Madden relinquished the cover of each game to a player...and since then, those players have ahd notortiously rough years.

 

Last year was no exception to the Madden curse, and it made it's mark in the very first week of the regular season. Two players made their way onto the cover of Madden 10 for the first time ever. It's a classic matchup that re-lives the drama of Super Bowl 43; Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals and Troy Polomalu of the championship Steelers. Troy Polomalu was injured in the Steelers' very first regular season game against the Titans. The Steelers had to play the rest of the season without their star defensive player.

 

You'd think that players and coaches would have learned about the Madden curse by now. When EA Sports comes calling, it's probably in everybody's best interest to decline the offer regardless of how prestigious and financially rewarding the opportunity might be. If you don't believe in it yet, just take a look at all the historical evidence of a very real "Madden Curse.".

 

Historical examples 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: As the 2003 cover athlete, St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk had an ankle injury all season and failed to reach 1,000 rushing yards for the first time since 1996, while the Rams team went 7-9 and missed the playoffs.

 

2004: The Madden Curse struck for the third year in a row in 2003, when star QB Michael Vick missed the entire season due to a fractured fibula he got in a preseason game.

 

2006: Donovan McNabb was featured on the cover of Madden 06, and in week one of the 2005 season, you guessed it, Donovan McNabb suffered a hernia. It plagued ihim all season, and he eventually missed the last 7 games of the season.

 

That evidence is hard to refute. So, how will Drew Brees fare against the msyterious and enignmatic "Madden Curse?"