Maybe pro Athletes should stick to the covers of Wheaties boxes...

Newsletter

Be notified of site updates. Sign-up for the Newsletter sent out twice weekly.

Enter E-Mail Address Below:

Madden Curse strikes again!

This past weekend, Madden '07 cover boy, Shaun Alexander got a bad foot injury that will see him miss at least a month of playtime ; Last season, Madden '06 cover boy, Donovan McNabb suffered from a persistent hernia.

It's supposed to be an honor, a sign of respect for being one of the best National Football League players at the time. What it has become is an apocalyptic sign of impending doom upon a player's season. Since Electronic Arts started the tradition of selecting a cover athlete for its Madden NFL franchise the last six years instead of coach John Madden gracing the front, being chosen as the game's cover jock has become a veritable curse, the so-called "Madden Curse."

Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander had an incredible 2005 season
when he won the league's MVP award, set a new league touchdown record with
28, was the league's leading rusher, and culminated his incredible campaign by leading his team into the Super Bowl for the very first time (where they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers).

Naturally, when it came time for EA to choose its Madden NFL 07 cover athlete, Alexander was at the top of the list. But after what's happened to almost every player preceding him, Alexander couldn't have been happy. I distinctly remember watching NFL Network the day that Alexander was picked to be the cover athlete, and the show's host asked Alexander if he was afraid of the "curse."

Advertisement

Alexander simply brushed it off as superstition, saying he wasn't worried. Well, he should have been. Last Sunday against the New York Giants, Alexander fell victim to a foot injury that will knock him out of action for a month or more. The Madden Curse had struck again!

Advertisement

Believe me, I know all about the curse and its ill effects on a football player. For Madden NFL 06, EA selected my favorite player from my beloved football team, Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles. After all, McNabb was coming off of his best season ever, and triumphantly had guided the Eagles to the team's first Super Bowl in 25 years.

What happened to McNabb? Well, 2006 was a nightmare from beginning to its inglorious end for both McNabb (who, by the way, clearly angered the gaming gods when he, just like Alexander, claimed to not believe in the "curse") and the Birds, as first McNabb had to deal with a debilitating sports hernia that caused a clearly apparent reduction of his football skills.

Then he had to deal with the team-destroying effects of loony Terrell Owens' greedy contract squabble that sunk both the Eagles season and McNabb's reputation after Owens threw incendiary grenade after incendiary grenades into both the Eagles' nest and at McNabb's rep. The result was a 6-10 season and an injury-shortened season for D-Mac. Man, did that Madden Curse have it in for McNabb!

Ray Lewis made the cover of Madden '05 and had one of his worst seasons as soon as the game was out ; Michael Vick sported the Madden '04 cover and broke his leg shortly thereafter

And it's not just Alexander and McNabb that have had bad seasons after appearing on Madden NFL's front cover. Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens had one of his worst seasons ever, and suffered a broken wrist the last day of the season. Marshall Faulk and Daunte Culpepper both had injury-ravaged seasons, and Barry Sanders, the very first cover athlete, retired before the season even began!

How's this for a bona fide curse? 2004's cover guy, the Falcons' Michael Vick, broke his right fibula the very next day after the game hit store shelves!

Only one player, Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George, had a great regular season. But even he fell victim to the curse, losing a crucial fumble in the playoffs that cost the Titans the game.

Injuries, insult and ignominy: They have followed nearly every Madden cover athlete and established that the curse is indeed real to even the most unbelieving of the unbelievers. One thing's for sure, whomever Electronic Arts tabs as the player to be given the dubious "honor" of being Madden NFL 08's cover athlete better be prepared for the curse wreaking havoc on their health and performance.

In fact, The way the curse has been blatantly laying waste to a player's season, it wouldn't be surprising if nobody was willing to appear on the front of Madden NFL 08 at all!

-Lee Cieniawa
lcieniawa@armchairempire.com

(September 28, 2006)


PC \| Gamecube \| DS \| Wii \| PlayStation 2 \| PlayStation 3 \| PSP \| Xbox \| Xbox 360
News \| Reviews \| Previews \| Features \| Classics \| Goodies \| Anime \| Forums