The Madden Curse: A History

The release of Madden 11 will be one of the most hyped and anticipated events in 2010. For more than 20 years, this franchise has been an undeniably big hit. In order to get shots of all the rookies in their new jerseys, the Madden development team shows up to the annual NFL entry draft. Television programs pitting some of the most talented Madden NFL players in tournaments are shown around the world. Millions of people take release day off work every year, and a Madden Holiday is as close as the game industry is likely to ever get to it's own national holiday.

 

For all the good that comes with the hype and hysteria of Madden NFL, there is a downfall to the game's yearly release. Ever since 1999 when John Madden started putting players on the cover instead of himself, those players seem to either perform badly or suffer serious injury.

 

Last year was no exception to the Madden curse, and it made it's mark in the very first week of the regular season. Two players made their way onto the cover of Madden 10 for the first time ever. Troy Polomalu was shown head-to-head with a man he covered in Super Bowl XLIII; Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals. 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. The Steelers had to play the rest of the season without their star defensive player.

 

You'd think that players and coaches would have learned about the Madden curse by now. Athletes are notoriously superstitious, and next time Madden comes a callin', most would be better off to just decline. As history has shown, going on the Madden NFL cover is almost guaranteed to affect a player, and probably his team, negatively.

 

The History of the Madden Curse:

 

2002: QB Daunte Culpepper was honored with a Madden 02 cover appearance folliowing his team's final four appearance in 2000. He followed this up by missing the last five games of the 2001 season with a hurt knee, and his team missed the playoffs.

 

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: The Falcons finished 5-11 in 2003 when their youg star dual-threat QB missed the entire season due to injury. Guess what? He had been featured on that year's Madden.

 

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.

 

That's the history of the curse. So, what will happen to this year's cover star?