GASP! 2010 Madden Cover Boy: Larry Fitzgerald (Icon SMI)
The Madden Curse
Has the clock struck twelve for Arizona in 2009?
Updated: August 28, 2009
Original Release: August 18, 2003
Honestly, we don't know quite what to make of this one. The latest victim, "Jet" Favre, couldn't escape, and now "The Madden Cover Curse" has its sights set squarely on superstars WR Larry Fitzgerald and DB Troy Polamalu for the 2009 NFL and fantasy football seasons.
Like it or not, this fantasy football draft strategy has paid off through the years for those superstitious folks out there who just flat out avoided the latest Madden coverboy in their draft. As for us, we've
got Larry Fitzgerald as #1 in our Wide Receiver Rankings and ranked #8 overall in our
Fantasy Football Player Rankings, and with our best Ebeneezer Scrooge impression say, "Bah! Curses!" After all, we're men of science, and everything can be explained rationally through scientific fact... can't it?
Now, where is that salt shaker? And who just let the Leprechaun in the room? Oh well, let's get to "The Curse":
With the official
unveiling of the cover boys for the 2010 version of the most popular football video game ever,
we have also officially updated the most feared curse in all of sports... ever.
How feared? According to ESPN, LaDainian Tomlinson reportedly turned down
the 2008 cover (summer 2007 release) and the millions in additional revenue that came with it. Perhaps to
avoid the Madden Curse? (He still didn't escape, as evidently just being selected as the potential cover boy causes the Madden Curse to take effect). Back in 2003, this article was originally composed to be nothing more than a tongue-in-cheek, fun
read to discuss a quirky trend. Years later, this is just getting downright freaky. We can't rationalize it. We can't explain it.
We can't even make any sense of it. It just is what it is. So with that in mind, let's just accept it at face value and take a look at a FootballDocs' timeless
classic to show you what the Madden Cover Curse is all about...
So what is the Madden Cover Curse?
Move over Sports Illustrated, it's time to talk about a real curse. It's not even Halloween yet, and we are already diving into the realm of the supernatural with all this talk regarding curses.
So here we go... turn down the lights and sit back as we pass this little urban electronic legend down into your neck of the woods.
The Madden series of electronic football games by Electronic Arts (EA) Sports has been a staple for America's youth
(and some not so youthful) ever since its launch in 1989. Since then, it has become the
best selling sports title in the history of the electronic gaming industry. In 2000, the
Madden franchise decided to place a NFL player on the cover instead of using John Madden's mug.
That 2001 version (released in 2000) was the beginning of one of the soon-to-be most infamous curses in all of sports.
It was discovered that if you went into a bathroom, turned out the lights, and said John Madden's name five times in a row, he
would appear and start signing "My Brett Favre is Back!" (GASP!! SWEET HEAVENS!) Err... sorry... wrong Madden Curse ... OK, how about we try this again... (ahem) It was discovered that after NFL players started
to grace the cover of the Madden Game, every offensive player that appeared on the cover experienced a substantial
drop in production for the year of the cover's release (enter "Psycho" music - IT'S A FANTASY FOOTBALL NIGHTMARE!!)
In 2004, Linebacker Ray Lewis was the first cover boy to come
from the defensive side of the ball, and also the first (and only) to make it through a season without a significant drop in production. Perhaps nature
had decided Lewis had experienced enough turmoil in his NFL career and deserved a BYE on from the Madden Curse. Well, unfortunately for Donovan McNabb and the Philly Nation, the Madden Curse promptly got back on track in 2005, and it
hasn't looked back ever since. The first time that the curse was in effect it took an extra year to get started. Ever
since then it has been very consistent in crushing a player's season for that release year. Some might say
that the Madden Curse doesn't exist, but try telling
that to the previous eight out of nine cover boys of Madden Football.
The Numbers:
2001 Cover (Summer 2000* Release)
Passing/Receiving
Rushing
Year
Player
Team
Pos
Games
Yards
TD
INT
Yards
TD
2000
Eddie George
TEN
RB
16
453
2
--
1509
14
2001
Eddie George - CURSED
TEN
RB
16
279
0
--
939
5
* There was a one year delay to get the Madden Curse rolling!
2002 Cover (Summer 2001 Release)
Passing/Receiving
Rushing
Year
Player
Team
Pos
Games
Yards
TD
INT
Yards
TD
2000
Daunte Culpepper
MIN
QB
16
3937
33
16
470
7
2001
Daunte Culpepper - CURSED
MIN
QB
11
2612
14
13
416
5
2003 Cover (Summer 2002 Release)
Passing/Receiving
Rushing
Year
Player
Team
Pos
Games
Yards
TD
INT
Yards
TD
2001
Marshall Faulk
STL
RB
14
765
9
--
1382
12
2002
Marshall Faulk - CURSED
STL
RB
14
537
2
--
953
8
2004 Cover (Summer 2003 Release)
Passing/Receiving
Rushing
Year
Player
Team
Pos
Games
Yards
TD
INT
Yards
TD
2002
Michael Vick
ATL
QB
15
2936
16
8
777
8
2003
Michael Vick - CURSED
ATL
QB
5
585
4
3
255
1
2005 Cover (Summer 2004 Release)
Defensive Statistics
Year
Player
Team
Pos
Games
Tackles
Assists
Sacks
Fum. Rec.
INT
2003
Ray Lewis
BAL
LB
16
121
42
1.5
2
6
2004
Ray Lewis* - IMMUNITY
BAL
LB
15
101
46
1
2
0
* Defensive immunity to "The Curse"...?
2006 Cover (Summer 2005 Release)
Passing/Receiving
Rushing
Year
Player
Team
Pos
Games
Yards
TD
INT
Yards
TD
2004
Donovan McNabb
PHI
QB
15
3875
31
8
220
3
2005
Donovan McNabb - CURSED
PHI
QB
9
2507
16
9
55
1
2007 Cover (Summer 2006 Release)
Passing/Receiving
Rushing
Year
Player
Team
Pos
Games
Yards
TD
INT
Yards
TD
2005
Shaun Alexander
SEA
RB
16
78
1
--
1880
27
2006
Shaun Alexander - CURSED
SEA
RB
10
48
0
--
896
7
2008 Cover (Summer 2007 Release)
Passing/Receiving
Rushing
Year
Player
Team
Pos
Games
Yards
TD
INT
Yards
TD
2006
Vince Young
TEN
QB
15
2199
12
13
552
7
2007
Vince Young - MILD CURSE
TEN
QB
15
2546
9
17
395
3
2008
Vince Young* - CURSED
TEN
QB
3
219
1
2
27
0
Year
Player
Team
Pos
Games
Yards
TD
INT
Yards
TD
2006
L. Tomlinson
SDG
RB
16
508
3
--
1815
28
2007
L. Tomlinson** - CURSED
SDG
RB
16
475
3
--
1474
15
* While Young experienced a decent drop in production from 2006 to 2007 (19 vs. 12 total TDs and 13 vs. 17 INTs), the real hammer came in 2008... hmmmm... perhaps back in 2000,
"The Curse" didn't need a year to get rolling... perhaps if you play for Tennessee, the Madden Curse has a one year delay to realize its full effect! Chalk it up to "Music City Magic"?
** Tomlinson reportedly was offered the 2008 cover (summer 2007 release) and turned it down along with the millions in additional revenue that came with it. Perhaps to
avoid the Madden Cover Curse? (He still didn't escape, as evidently just being selected as the potential cover boy causes the "The Curse" to take effect).
2009 Cover (Summer 2008 Release)
Passing/Receiving
Rushing
Year
Player
Team
Pos
Games
Yards
TD
INT
Yards
TD
2007
Brett Favre
GB
QB
16
4155
28
15
12
0
2008
"Jet" Favre - CURSED
NYJ
QB
16
3472
22
22
43
1
So who is on the cover for the 2010 edition of Madden Football?
Unfortunately for the fans of Arizona still seeing stars from their amazing playoff run to the Super Bowl
last year, the latest cover boy for the Madden franchise is Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald shares the cover with
Pittsburgh Steelers' Safety Troy Polamalu; however, as Ray Lewis' year in 2004 suggests, Polamalu could experience
defensive immunity to the Madden Curse and show no signs of a drop in production. As for Fitzgerald, he is not so lucky. While his
pocket book may be a little heavier thanks to a heavy endorsement check courtesy
of EA Sports, Fitzgerald would be served well this season by throwing some salt over
his left shoulder each Sunday, keeping a four-leaf clover in his jersey,
and never, ever leaving his home without his trusty rabbit's foot. With a little luck,
those efforts will help balance the bad luck generated by
the the Madden Curse. Perhaps the fact that Fitzgerald is the first wide receiver to ever grace the cover and also the first player
to share the cover with another player will help confuse the Madden Curse. Perhaps the fact he shares the cover with a defensive
player grants him "immunity through association". Well, only time will tell:
