In the 20-plus years of the Madden football game franchise, infamy has surrounded those selected to grace the annual football simulator’s cover. Since the San Francisco 49er’s Garrison Hearst broke his ankle after being named Madden ‘99’s cover athlete, rumors have circulated of a “curse.”
The “curse” grew in infamy as an ever-increasing numbers of Madden cover athletes suffered high-profile injuries: after being named to the Madden cover, Michael Vick broke his fibula during the 2003 preseason, while Vince Young, Troy Polamalu, and Shaun Alexander all lost time due to injury. Other cover athletes simply had terrible seasons compared to their normal successes: Drew Brees had a down year after his selection, and Marshall Faulk, usually so reliable, failed to pass 1,000 yards rushing. Now, fans are so superstitious about the curse that they actively campaign for their favorite player to not get selected for the cover.
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The “curse” grew in infamy as an ever-increasing numbers of Madden cover athletes suffered high-profile injuries: after being named to the Madden cover, Michael Vick broke his fibula during the 2003 preseason, while Vince Young, Troy Polamalu, and Shaun Alexander all lost time due to injury. Other cover athletes simply had terrible seasons compared to their normal successes: Drew Brees had a down year after his selection, and Marshall Faulk, usually so reliable, failed to pass 1,000 yards rushing. Now, fans are so superstitious about the curse that they actively campaign for their favorite player to not get selected for the cover.
Continue reading…
Continue reading...