Madden NFL 2009 comes out today and on the cover is none other than the newest NY poster boy, Brett Favre. After spending the last four months gobbling up headlines and water cooler talk, Favre was traded to the lowly NY Jets last week for a fourth round draft pick. The future hall of famer spent many a season in Green Bay leading the Packers offense, including two trips to the Super Bowl winning in 1996 and losing in 1997 to my Denver Broncos which is still the greatest day of my life; my father has informed me that the birth of my first child will someday supplant that, to be honest that’s tough to imagine but that’s a whole other column. Favre also has the distinction of being selected as the ‘cover boy’ of the newest Madden NFL game released by EA sports which raises a curious thought because he will be in a Packer jersey and not a Jets jersey, but once again that’s another column altogether. The bigger question is whether or not the famed Madden curse will affect him. What is the Madden curse? Well let us delve into that.
Starting in 1999 the people at EA sports decided to put an actual NFL player on the cover of their Madden games who either had an MVP type season or displayed any type of ‘it’ quality which could be used to entice people to buy it (more on that later). Up until then every cover had been a picture of John Madden himself which had to have been taken in 1992, because in the years to follow he suffered his own Madden curse, or perhaps he became too large for anything but his head to be featured on the game box. Nevertheless, instead of a generic player which could be anybody, like those used by the good people at Tecmo back in the early 90’s (remember QB Eagles?) this person would be the face of the game and one used to market and sell the video game to the masses. The first player used was former 49er running back Garrison Hearst, who broke his ankle in the playoffs the year ‘his’ game came out. Much like the Oscar celebrations of Cuba Gooding Jr and Roberto Benigni, nobody noticed the omen. Two years later the Madden curse was born.
The Madden Curse stipulates that anyone gracing the cover of the Madden series of NFL video games will either a) suffer an injury in the upcoming season rendering his participation with the team as valuable as any plotline involving Bartholomew Bond on the original Degrassi, b) suffer a production decrease not seen since the 4th season of Malcolm in the Middle, or c) both. Here is a quick list of the last eight Madden NFL ‘cover boy’s’. (The Madden games are a year ahead. For example, this year’s game is Madden ’09, even though this season is the 2008 season.)
2001: Eddie George, RB,
In 2000, George had his best pro season. He rushed for 14 touchdowns and over 1500 yards making him the 3rd best rusher for the season and also 3rd best in touchdowns. It seemed like there would not be any curse at all. The Titans wound up winning the AFC central with a record of 13-3. In the second round of the playoffs, George bobbled a pass from QB Steve McNair which was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. The defending AFC champs would lose to
2002: Dante Culpepper, QB,
In 2000, Culpepper was one of the brightest new stars in the league. He led the upstart Vikings to an 11-5 record and threw for 33 TD’s while only being intercepted 16 times. In the NFC championship game, the signal stealing NY Giants (They had to have! Admit it!) beat Culpepper and the Vik’s 41-0, ending a stellar season. After appearing on the latest version of Fatten’s video game he saw his numbers plummet, throwing for only 14 TDs and being intercepted 13 times. He also injured his knee and missed five weeks. The Vikings finished the season 5-11.
2003: Marshall Faulk, RB,
In 2001, Faulk (remember
2005: Ray Lewis, LB, Baltimore Ravens (2004 will come last, for obvious reasons)
In 2003 Lewis was the most menacing linebacker in the NFL. Bone crushing hits and even an interception here and there made him perhaps the only one man defense in NFL history. He was named Defensive Player of the Year and had a career high six INTs. Then EA Sports came calling and his face was put on the cover of the 2005 Madden game. The next season he did not intercept a pass for the first time in his career and his Ravens, who had won a division title the year before, did not make the playoffs. He also suffered an ankle injury late in the season. Madden 4, ‘cover boy’s’ 0.
2006: Donovan “F” McNabb, QB,
Who could forget the 2004 season for the “iggals”. McNabb finally had a receiver worthy of him (Terrell Owens) and they made the Super Bowl for the first time since 1980. Previous to that however, he had led them to the NFC title game three consecutive years. All of this (plus being sick during a huddle in the Super Bowl yet continuing to play) made him the ideal choice for the Madden franchise with hopes of putting this curse to rest. Well, in 2005 he got injured. In 2006 he got injured. In 2007 he got injured again. In fact, he’s missed more games due to injury the past three seasons than his previous six combined! While Madden is in his limo driving across the US (he hates to fly) munching on corn dogs, his ‘cover boys’ are spending time in the infirmary.
2007: Shawn Alexander, RB,
2005 was a great year for both Alexander and the Seahawks. It featured an MVP for their star running back and a Super Bowl appearance for the team. Even though they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in perhaps the worst officiated SB in history (it was! Admit it again!) things looked bright for both the player and the team. Alexander signed a huge contract extension following the season and low and behold the team at EA Sports selected Alexander to be the poster boy for their new and improved Madden ’07 football game. In 2006 however, he rushed for only 896 yards and missed six games with a broken foot. The ‘Hawks still made the playoffs, but only because the rest of the division couldn’t finish better than .500, which more or less resembles the 1998 Oscars. Shakespeare in Love won best picture, but look what it was up against.
2008: Vince Young, QB,
On
Which brings us to the greatest example of the Madden Curse. This one is so unprecedented it’s almost eerie. Nobody, anywhere, ever, could have imagined such a catastrophic and abysmal decline into nothingness than the man who was on the cover of Madden 2004. Most of you know the latter, but it’s so much more than that. Madden 2004 was just the beginning and we all know where it ended. So without further ado:
2004: Michael Vick, QB,
In college he was heralded as the “next generation of QBs”. He could throw (as good as Jim Harbaugh at least) and he could run (better than Randall Cunningham or QB Eagles) but most of all, he could win. He was drafted 1st overall by the Falcons and was supposed to bring them a decade or two of stability. He delivered almost immediately. The 2002 season saw the Falcons finish with a 9-7 record but on
So there’s a definite Madden curse going on. All eight of the last cover boys have been affected in some way, be they injuries, a decrease in production or incarcerated. So hopefully Brett “The Jet” can overcome this curse have a great season both for himself and the team. Things still haven’t been right in
2009: Brett Favre, QB, New York Jets (man that sounds strange)
After a Hall of Fame career, Favre came to the Jets, a team which won four games the previous year. He led them to a blazing 7-2 start, throwing 18 TD’s while being intercepted only 5 times. After their 7th win however, Favre broke his leg while hailing a taxi in
I hope I’m wrong. But it would be really cool if I was right.
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