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If you are a football fan, chances are you have not heard of the "Madden" curse.
The apparent and infamous jinx goes like this: The player appearing on the cover of the annual NFL video game of Electronic Arts is doomed to encounter something bad – bad luck, a drop in play, or maybe a serious injury. That's superstition at its best
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EA himself has publicly denied the existence of the curse, which tells you everything you need to know about its popularity. (Do not get us started on EA 's plans that would have been forgotten by making a comedy movie about the curse.) Others, like the cover athletes themselves, made the annual myth a myth . 19659002] And yet, whether you're really afraid that your favorite team is suffering from "Madden" or that you find that ridiculously stupid, the curse has never really vanished. With the Browning of Pittsburgh Steelers announced as the cover star for "Madden 19" this week, we re-examine every 20 years of "Madden" covers from 1999, when EA began to use players in addition to and instead of coach John Madden – all in the hope of discovering if the curse is still a thing these days.
Here are all the covers since 1999, using the years of the Madden titles (example: "Madden 19" was released in 2018):
2000: John Madden, RB of Detroit Barry Sanders
Sanders is one of the biggest halves to play the game, but his abrupt, unexpected and controversial retreat came in July 1999, which means that he's never set foot on the field after landing on "Madden". His departure was so shocking that EA used Dorsey Levens of Green Bay Packers for the cover of an alternative and European version of the game.
Verdict: Cursed
2001: Tennessee Titans RB Eddie George
George ran over 1,500 yards in his hedging season, but he also lost a high number of career fumbles, spitting the ball in the Titans' playoff playoff and never made the average anymore "
Verdict: Cursed
2002: Minnesota Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper
After throwing 33 touchdowns and 11-5 as In 2000, Culpepper made a dive during its hedging season. The injuries wiped out six games, he groped 16 times, threw just 14 touchdowns against 13 picks and sank 4-7 on his starts.
Verdict: Cursed
2003: St. Louis Rams Marshall Faulk
The Hall of Famer entered its season of coverage after scoring five 1000-yard seasons and three consecutive games. garden campaigns. But in 2002, Faulk broke down, missing nearly half a dozen starts and never exceeding 1,000 yards.
Verdict: Cursed
2004: Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick
In the game, Vick was unstoppable thanks to his unmatched speed. On the field, although he exploded on the stage as a first choice, a fractured fibula less than a week after the game's exit put him at odds with everything but five games. Four years later, he was in prison
Verdict: Cursed
2005: Baltimore Ravens LB Ray Lewis
His total interception dropped from six to zero in 2004, his year coverage, and the Ravens also missed the playoffs. But it's nagging. He still registered 147 tackles. If we were talking about the next year, there could be a case because it missed 10 games.
Verdict: Not Cursed
2006: Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb
McNabb reached his peak in 2004, throwing 31 touchdowns and leading the Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIX. But 2005 was the backdrop. He fought with Terrell Owens and missed almost half of a 6-10 season. He continued to miss eight games over the next two years, also
Verdict: Cursed
2007: Seattle Seahawks RB Alexander Shaun
Like Faulk, he entered his year cover with five straight seasons of 1000 meters under his belt. And his dominion has also stopped. In 2006, his rushed total dropped from 1,880 to 896, and two years later he was out of the NFL, a clash of the Washington Redskins.
Verdict: Cursed
2008: Tennessee QB Titans Vince Young
He was an offensive rookie of the year in 2006. For his year of coverage, Young has launched only nine touchdowns against 17 interceptions, missed a match and earned a spot on the bench for 2008, never completely regained Jeff Fisher's Confidence
Verdict: Cursed
2009: ] Green Bay Packers / New York Jets QB Brett Favre
EA began by making Favre the cover athlete in tribute to his The Packers' career, which had just ended. But Favre forced his exit and New York. All he did there was to run a series of INT 22s and hurt his shoulder before leaving for Minnesota.
Verdict: Cursed
2010: Arizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh SS Steelers Troy Polamalu
Fitz experienced one of his Pro seasons Bowl with more than 1,000 yards, but Polamalu missed 11 career games in 2009 thanks to an injury to MCL, recording a low total of 20 tackles before remaining on the sidelines.
Verdict: Half-curse
2011: New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees
Throw 33 TD and win another Pro Bowl selection is a good thing, but Brees had In the past season, he has honored the coverage with 22 career and franchise selections. His Saints also lost to the 7-9 Seahawks in the playoffs.
Verdict: Cursed
2012: Cleveland Browns RB Peyton Hillis
You forgot it, did not you? Hillis climbed to 1,000 yards in 2010, but during his year of coverage, he missed half a dozen games with one injury, averaging 3.6 yards per run and found himself in a journeyman career. [19659002] Verdict: Cursed
2013: Detroit WR Lions Calvin Johnson
If someone broke the curse, it was Johnson, who had a career and a historic season the year he was on the cover. Although, like Barry Sanders before him, he retired relatively early a few years later, 2012 saw him an impressive 1,964 yards on receipt
Verdict: Not Cursed
2014: RB Minnesota Vikings Adrian Peterson
If Johnson broke the curse, Peterson may have relaunched him in 2013. Freshly released from his sixth season of 1,000 yards and two years removed from a campaign history of 2000 yards, he missed all the matches except one
Cursed
2015: Seattle Seahawks CB Richard Sherman
His total interception dropped, and his Seahawks have failed to repeat as Super Bowl champions, but otherwise, Sherman was still at the top of his game during his cover year. It was only after the season that he had to undergo surgery by Tommy John
Verdict: Not Cursed
2016: The New York Giants of WR Odell Beckham Jr.
There is a case In 2015, Beckham's cover year, that is when the flamboyant WR really began to rub people the wrong way, especially with a suspension of a match for his fight against Josh Norman. But he still dominated the field with 1,400 yards
Verdict: Not cursed
2017: Patriots of New England TE Rob Gronkowski
The Pro Bowler Quintal was coming off One Another two-digit touchdown season in 2016, but he missed nearly all of the Patriots' first four games with a hamstring injury, and then finished with just six starts due to a herniated disc and injury. other wounds
Cursed
EA Sports
2018: Tom Brady of New England QB Tom Brady
With a chance to win a sixth Lombardi Trophy, Brady was defeated by Nick Foles of the Eagles at the Super Bowl LII. But he has still thrown more than 500 yards into this game after winning another MVP award – all at 40 years old. He is immune to the curse.
Verdict: Not Cursed
– [19659002] What does history tell us then? Using our verdicts, 9/10 covered athletes from 1999 to 2009 were cursed, while only 5.5 / 10 were cursed in the last 10 years. The curse "Madden" can be alive, but it can also lose its power.
Or, you know, that might just be wrong.
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