Probably the most anticipated xbox game of 2010 is the new Madden. The Madden football games took the nascent video game industry by storm, and haven't slowed down yet. 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. 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. 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. In 2009, there were two players on the cover for the first time in the franchise's history. 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 didn't return.
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: After making it to the NFC with the Vikings in 2000, quaerterback Daunte Culpepper missed the final five games of the 2001 season (after being fatured on the cover) leading his team to a record of 5-11.
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 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.
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.
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