Perhaps the most highly anticipated video game every year is the Madden NFL series from EA Sports. Madden has been on the scene for 21 years, and pretty much everyone who is a fan of football or video games has picked it up and played. 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. Television programs pitting some of the most talented Madden NFL players in tournaments are shown around the world. And people are known to come up with every excuse in the book in order to get out of work on the very day the game releases - making it as close to a national holiday as the video game industry is likely to get.
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.
In the first week of the 2009 season, the Madden curse had already reared it's ugly head. In 2009, there were two players on the cover for the first time in the franchise's history. 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. Without their defensive captain, the Steelers struggled, ceding the AFC North division title to the Bengals.
You'd think that players and coaches would have learned about the Madden curse 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. Whether you're just as superstitious, you can't deny the historical evidence of the Madeen curse's negative impact.
Historical examples of the Madden Curse:
2002: After making it to the NFC with the Vikings in 2000, quaerterback Daunte Culpepper missed the final five games of the 2001 season (after being fatured on the cover) leading his team to a record of 5-11.
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: For the third year straight, the cover athlete of Madden suffered injury. In 2003, it was QB Mike Vick, who missed the entire season due to preseason injury. Without him, the Falcons went 5-11.
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.
You might not be superstitious, but it's hard to deny the evidence.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário