The release of Madden 11 will be one of the most hyped and anticipated events in 2010. This renowned franchise has been a phenomenon for the past 21 years. The team behind Madden even attends the NFL Draft every year in order to get headshots of rookies in their NFL uniforms as early as humanly possible. Along with the game's popularity has grown a huge pro gaming industry, and now the world's top Madden players can make a living playing in tournaments or even just online. There is no other anuual release of any tyoe that demands the attention of Madden -- and the devotion, as bceomes clear when thousands of people take the day off work.
Amidts the excitement of the game's release, it can be slightly bittersweet for some players, namely those who get rated badly and, above all, the one who graces the game's cover. In 1999, John Madden relinquished the cover of each game to a player...and since then, those players have ahd notortiously rough years.
Last year was no exception to the Madden curse, and it made it's mark in the very first week of the regular season. For the first time in the series' history, two players graced the cover of Madden NFL 10. Both teams from SB 43 are acknowledged, with Troy Polomalu of the Steelers and Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals. Well, Polomalu got hurt in the very first game he played after being put on the cover of Madden, a medial collateral ligament sprain. The Steelers had to play the rest of the season without their star defensive player.
You'd think that the NFL would have leraned it's leason by now. When EA Sports comes calling, it's probably in everybody's best interest to decline the offer regardless of how prestigious and financially rewarding the opportunity might be. Histroy has taught us that the negative effect of being on the Madden cover, for whatever scientific or non-scientific reason, is a real thing.
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: After gracing the cover of Madden 03, RB Marshall Faulk played the whole 2002 season with a hurt ankle and missed the 1,000 rushing yard mark for the first time in 6 years while his team rounded out the season with a 7-9 record, which wasn;t good enough for a playoff appearance.
2004: Atlanta Falcons quarterback and franchise cornerstone Michael Vick was selected for the 2004 installment of Madden NFL, but missed the entire season after suffering a fractured right fibula in a preseason game and watched his team finish with a 5-11 record.
2006: Donovan McNabb was honored with a Madden cover appearance after his team made it to the Super Bowl in 2004. The curse struck him next season, and the sports hernai he suffered early in the year caused him to sit out the last 7 games.
That's the history of the curse. So, what will happen to this year's cover star?
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