The Curse of the Madden Cover Athlete

Perhaps the most highly anticipated video game every year is the Madden NFL series from EA Sports. This renowned franchise has been a phenomenon for the past 21 years. It's right there for the annual NFL Draft, creating shots of players on their new teams almost instantly. The game has become so popular that tournaments where professionals play head-to-head for loads of money have made it onto television for our viewing pleasure. You may have also heard the term "Madden Holiday"...and it just goes to show how incredibly popular it has become.

 

For all the good that comes with the hype and hysteria of Madden NFL, there is a downfall to the game's yearly release. 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. Troy Polomalu was shown head-to-head with a man he covered in Super Bowl XLIII; Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals. Troy Polomalu was injured in the Steelers' very first regular season game against the Titans. He didn't return.

 

One would think that everyone in the league would have learned to avoid Madden by now. Players a) don't need the money and b) are quite superstitious in the best of times, so you'd think they'd just decline the offer from EA sports. As history has shown, going on the Madden NFL cover is almost guaranteed to affect a player, and probably his team, negatively.

 

Notable instances of the Madden NFL 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: Atlanta Falcons franchise QB (and a Madden player's favorite QB at the time) missed the entire 2003 season after gracing the cover of Madden 04. His team finished 5-11 (missing the playoffs of course) without him.

 

2006: Donovan McNabb was honored with a Madden cover appearance after his team made it to the Super Bowl in 2004. The curse struck him next season, and the sports hernai he suffered early in the year caused him to sit out the last 7 games.

 

The evidence is stacking up. Whether it's just the impact on your attitude after being featured, whether it just effects your concentration in the preseason and training camp, or whether it's something more...mysterious, who knows.