Madden is one of the most look-forward-to releases on xbox and PS3 every year, and this year is no exception. For more than 20 years, this franchise has been an undeniably big hit. It's right there for the annual NFL Draft, creating shots of players on their new teams almost instantly. 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. There is no other anuual release of any tyoe that demands the attention of Madden -- and the devotion, as bceomes clear when thousands of people take the day off work.
You might also think that players are honored and delighted to be featured on the game's cover. Since Madden gave up the game's cover appearance starting with the 1999 installment for a different annual cover athlete, that player has suffered from poor play or injury, leading to the belief that there is a Madden NFL curse.
The Madden curse made it's mark again in 2009. Two players made their way onto the cover of Madden 10 for the first time ever. Defending Super Bowl Champion safety of the Pittsburgh Steelers Troy Polamalu goes head-to-head with one of the men he covered in the big game last February, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. 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. He missed the rest of the seson.
One would imagine teams and players would have learned their lesson 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.".
Some Hisrotical Examples:
2002: Daunte Culpepper, QB, followed up his 2000 NFC championship appearance by leading his team to a 5-11 season, and missed the final 5 games of the season with an injured knee following his fateful appearance on the cover of Madden 2002: he hsan't recovered yet.
2003: After gracing the cover of Madden 03, RB Marshall Faulk played the whole 2002 season with a hurt ankle and missed the 1,000 rushing yard mark for the first time in 6 years while his team rounded out the season with a 7-9 record, which wasn;t good enough for a playoff appearance.
2004: Atlanta Falcons quarterback and franchise cornerstone Michael Vick was selected for the 2004 installment of Madden NFL, but missed the entire season after suffering a fractured right fibula in a preseason game and watched his team finish with a 5-11 record.
2006: Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was coming off a Super Bowl appearance, in which his team lost to the New England Patriots. But as the Madden NFL 06 cover athlete, his 2005 was destined for disaster and he suffered a sports hernia in the first game and ended up shutting down for the last seven games of the season.
You might not be superstitious, but it's hard to deny the evidence.
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