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RSS FeedThe Madden NFL curse: Fact or fluff?
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| Fact | 34% | 12 votes | Total: 35 votes | |
| Fluff | 66% | 23 votes |
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Add to FavoritesI shouldn't believe in sports curses, and neither should you.
I shouldn't believe in them because so often we've seen sports' "cursed souls" break through their curses. Michael Jordan never seemed too bothered by being on the cover of Sports Illustrated, nor does Tiger Woods, but the SI Cover Jinx is well-publicized. The Chicago White Sox weren't hindered by ghosts of Joe Jackson and Charlie Comiskey in 2005 when they won the World Series, nor were the Boston Red Sox a year prior held back by Babe Ruth's spirit. The 1994 New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup despite allegedly being cursed as a result of the last Ranger team before them to win Lord Stanley's Cup using the trophy as a toilet some fifty years earlier.
Still, despite seeing curses broken left and right across sports, there's one supposed jinx that I'm all but forced to buy into: the Madden Cover. The football player to make the cover of Madden NFL Football has performed below expectations every year since Electronic Arts stopped putting Madden himself on the cover. I believe in this curse because weeks before Madden NFL 2009 is released to the general public the curse has already struck. Maybe the player himself hasn't fallen to an injury and hasn't thrown an interception as a result of the cover yet, but the jersey he's wearing on that cover has taken a hit. (For those of you who do not know, the cover of Madden 09 will feature none other than Brett Favre.) The Packers-who are featured on the cover by virtue of Favre being in their uniform in the picture-are in the midst of a public relations fight that they simply can't win. Favre has returned, and wants to leave. The team is surrounded by controversy and the players are hounded by questions about their "retired" "former" teammate.
A Green Bay quarterback is on the cover, but he won't be Green Bay's opening day starter. The Packers' real starting quarterback-who would have enough problems getting out of Favre's shadow without all this-is going to be the most closely-watched player in the NFL until the regular season is well underway. That sort of pressure is often terrible for such a signal caller, especially one trying to transition himself into a starting role. To top it all off, there are no guarantees that the NFL's career leader in interceptions thrown is going to step onto a new squad and pick up where he left off. At Favre's age, injuries and poor performance are both entirely possible, even if they're words you'd never use to describe Favre's playing career until this point.
Vince Young had a tremendous rookie season in 2006. Tennessee was back on the NFL map when Young started scrambling, breaking tackles and making tremendous throws. Coming into 2007, Young was considered the quarterback to watch. That's when Vince Young was placed on the cover of Madden 2008. The Titan quarterback had a season that made some question whether he deserved the hype he had been given. Madden 2006's cover featured Donovan McNabb, who sustained an injury during the season. The next year it was Shaun Alexander on the cover, and the reigning MVP of the time missed six weeks due to injury.
No player featured on the cover of Madden has won a Super Bowl after being featured. Considering that the featured player is almost always a key figure in the NFL that's a bit hard to believe. But that's where we stand.
In reality, of course this is a coincidence. There's nothing about being photographed for a video game cover that makes a player get hurt or play below expectations. But the Madden Curse is so prevalent that Brett Favre came out of retirement just to give it another chance to rear its ugly head. So worrisome that some people believe LaDanian Tomlinson rejected the cover of Madden NFL 2008 to avoid it-and not for contract issues as Tomlinson has stated in the past.
And as much as I'm loathe to believe in curses, if I were planning a Fantasy Football draft, no matter who he played for I wouldn't dare take Brett Favre knowing he's on the cover...
Learn more about this author, Timothy Williams.
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Fluff
The Madden Curse is a fluff. It had held true for many years until the arrival of Vince Young. He did not suffer any season ending injuries and performed very well. In addition to Young's survival through the curse, I believe that the curse is a way for the NFL to gain media attention. The Madden Curse raises publicity of the NFL and increases the fan base. There is an old saying, "It only works if you believe" and Vince Young challenged and defeated the Madden Curse.
The Madden Curse cannot be blamed for the injuries of today's star players. The severity of injuries caused by the Madden curse has never been determined because the injuries to players on the cover have varied. That being said, we have no right to blame this Curse for them. Players are injured every year and they always will be, even with improvement of protective padding. I also believe that no one has the right to diagnose which injuries are caused by this Madden Curse.
Secondly, I believe that many players are injured not by the Curse, but by poor judgment on the field. Players always want to be on the highlight reel. Over the years the ostentatious shows of stunts have become more dangerous. Fans are ecstatic when ever Randy Moss caught a ball with one hand, or when LaDanian Tomlinson leaps over the offensive and defensive lineman into the end-zone. One of the most recent controversial stunts was the front flip into the end-zone. It was imitated by many college players, including Kevin Robinson of Utah State. Although no serious injuries have occurred yet, it is only a matter of time before someone breaks their neck. While on the topic of flipping injuries, many fans would say the Adrian Peterson's broken clavicle, which he suffered from before he began his NFL career, was the result of a flip into the end-zone! That would make him a prime example of why player should not flip at all.
As a last point, the final act which is less dangerous, but has caused some injuries is the "dive for the first." We have seen it many times; a quarterback sprints for the first only to be met by linebacker waiting to bring the pain. So what other evasive move would the average quarterback do to avoid the collision other than sliding down or diving? This usually works, but can go wrong quickly when the player on the ground is still hit prior to and after the whistle is blown. The most famous quarterback diver would have to be Tampa Bay's Jeff Garcia. He loves to dive head first instead of sliding which is a cause for concern. He has gotten shaken up a few times, but nothing serious has happened. This can not be said in the case of running back LaDanian Tomlinson who suffered knee injuries in the game prior to the AFC championship during the playoffs. He attempted what looked like a safe slide, but when he collided with defenders, his leg was turned in the opposite direction.
To conclude this discussion, I believe that the Madden Curse is a fluff because not every player who has been on the cover has suffered serious injury, more injuries occur due to poor judgment, and because injuries will happen in any collision sport and will happen every year.
Learn more about this author, Billy Helms.
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