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Madden curse

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Donovan McNabb on the cover of Madden 06, allegedly cursed

The Madden Curse is a speculation involved with the Madden NFL
video game series. It is alleged that the cover athlete ending up on
Madden NFL is cursed that results in either a injury or poor
performance the following season.

Prior to 2000, all of the Madden NFL game box covers prominently featured John Madden only. When EA started to have NFL players on the cover of the Madden NFL games, some later (half-jokingly) speculated that there was a "Madden curse": a coincidental series of misfortunes that befell the product's cover-athletes. People started noticing a pattern with St. Louis Rams' halfback Marshall Faulk from the fallout of a Super Bowl-winning
season, and great season statistics earned a cover spot. The following
year his stats dropped sharply compared to his prior season. Also the Atlanta Falcons' star player, quarterback Michael Vick, was injured during the 2003 preseason after posing for the cover of Madden 2004. Vick suffered a broken fibula in a preseason game against Baltimore, the day after Madden 2004
was released to retailers. The injury resulted in a painful 5-11 year
for Vick's team. Although people who believe in the curse state that
the featured player will wind up having a weak or injury-prone season,
EA officials point out that Ray Lewis and Eddie George
appeared on the covers of the 2005 and 2001 versions, respectively, and
had successful seasons without injury. However, both NFL stars on the
cover of the 2006 and 2007 game versions have sustained
season-shortening injuries, with Donovan McNabb injuring his chest in
week 1 of 2006, and Shaun Alexander fracturing his foot in the
season-opening game in 2006.

The "Madden Curse" has evolved into a much-reported phenomena, with
several news and sports media outlets referring to it as a phenomena on
par with the fabelled Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx[2][3][4]

Allegedly cursed

Barry Sanders

• The first NFL player to be on a Madden NFL cover was Barry Sanders in 1999, for Madden 2000.
  He shared the cover with the then-customary picture of John Madden.
  However, a week before training camp began in 1999, Sanders abruptly
  retired - ending his career and leaving the Detroit Lions without their star running back
  of the previous 10 years. Sanders' part in the curse is debated because
  he is not pictured alone on the box, and he had willingly retired.

Dorsey Levens

• Dorsey Levens was featured on the 2000 cover that was released in PAL
  regions. After rushing for 1,034 yards in 1999, he gained only 224
  yards from scrimmage in 2000. Ultimately, Levens was cut by the Green Bay Packers in 2001, and retired, as a Packer, in 2004, as a journeyman who had 1-season stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants.

Eddie George

• Eddie George, then of the Tennessee Titans, who graced the 2001
  box, was the second 'cursed' player. Although he had the best year of
  his career, rushing for 1,509 yards, catching 50 passes for 453 yards
  and scoring 16 total touchdowns, he was cursed by bobbling a pass in
  the playoffs. The pass was then intercepted, ironically, by Baltimore
  Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis,
  who returned the ball for a touchdown. George, (up until then) known
  for his durability, would also get injured the following season. After
  regularly averaging nearly 4 yards per carry in his first five seasons
  and rushing for over 1,300 yards in each one, he averaged only 3 yards
  per carry and rushed for career lows of 939 yards and 5 touchdowns in
  the 2001 season. For the rest of his career, he never averaged more
  than 3.5 yards per carry, but did rush for over 1,000 yards twice and
  scored 14 touchdowns in 2002.

Daunte Culpepper

• Former Minnesota Vikings star quarterback Daunte Culpepper appeared on the 2002
  cover, and the Vikings struggled to a 4-7 record until Culpepper was
  shelved with a season-ending knee injury, which unfortunately ended a
  very good season for Culpepper.

Marshall Faulk

• Running back Marshall Faulk of the St. Louis Rams, who was on the 2003
  box, suffered an ankle injury, missing six games. He never broke
  through the 1,000 yards rushing mark for the rest of his career.

Michael Vick

Madden NFL 2004 cover art featuring Michael Vick.

• Very shortly after Madden 2004 was released featuring Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick on the cover, Vick was injured during a preseason game, suffering a fractured right fibula.
  Vick played in only the last 5 regular season games, finishing with
  only 585 yards passing and 4 touchdowns. The Atlanta Falcons missed the
  playoffs and were already out of contention by the time Vick returned
  from his injury. They finished the season with 5 wins and 11 losses, a
  stark contrast to the team's 9-6-1 record the season prior.

Ray Lewis

• Madden 2005 featured Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens.
  He broke his wrist, an injury that kept him out of the last game of the
  regular season. It was also Lewis' first season without a single
  interception, after posting a career-high 6 the previous year. The
  Baltimore Ravens also failed to make the playoffs that season (2004),
  after winning their division the year before. Furthermore, in Week 6
  the following year, Ray Lewis' season was ended by an injury.

Donovan McNabb

• The Philadelphia Eagles' star quarterback Donovan McNabb was on the cover of Madden NFL 06. Prior to the 2005 season, McNabb had a highly-publicized feud with his teammate, wide receiver Terrell Owens (who was, coincidentally, the cover athlete for rival Sega Sports' ESPN NFL 2K5,
  though no "Curse" had been associated with that series of games). Also,
  in the first game of the regular season, McNabb took a hit to the chest
  from the helmet of Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Chad Lavalais. After the game, it was revealed that McNabb had a 'sports hernia' ^[1] that needed surgery. Refusing to have the required season-ending surgery while the Eagles (who had made the Super Bowl
  the previous season) still had a chance to make the playoffs, McNabb
  played in discomfort and pain throughout the season. In the tenth game
  of the season, McNabb re-injured his groin when shoved to the ground by
  Dallas linebacker Bradie James while McNabb was attempting to tackle Dallas Cowboys defensive back Roy Williams,
  who was returning an interception for an eventual game-winning
  touchdown. McNabb did play the next series but was ineffective and then
  decided to pack it in for the rest of the season. On November 21, 2005,
  McNabb, on the advice of his doctors, opted to have season-ending
  surgery for his sports hernia; the Eagles had been eliminated from
  playoff contention and finished the year with a 6-10 record, due to an
  enormous amount of injuries and locker room problems. ^{[2] [3]}

Shaun Alexander

Madden NFL 2007 cover art featuring Shaun Alexander.

• Madden NFL 07 cover-athlete and reigning-MVP Shaun Alexander of the Seattle Seahawks suffered an injury from a chipped bone in his left foot which he recieved during the first game of the season against the Detroit Lions. Alexander decided to play through the pain and his foot didn't bother him again until the week 3 game against the New York Giants. The Monday following Seattle's victory, Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren
  said that a bone scan revealed Alexander sustained a "small crack" and
  "displaced fracture" on a non-weight-bearing bone in his foot. He will
  be out "indefinitely", though most suspect that the injury may only
  keep him out for about 3-4 weeks. Regardless, Alexander will miss his
  first full game in his seven-season NFL career. ^[4]

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