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Madden NFL 2007 released and so are odds on the
"Madden Curse"
 Online gambling web
site offers betting odds on the "Madden Curse" and
will Shaun Alexander fall victim
Madden NFL is an American football video game
developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon (EA) for EA
Sports. The Madden NFL series consistently is one of
the top selling video games in North America every
year. But the game is not without its urban
legend.
Prior to 2000, all of
the Madden NFL game box covers prominently featured
John Madden only. When EA started to have NFL
players on the cover of the Madden NFL games, some
later (half-jokingly) speculated that there was a
"Madden curse": a coincidental series of misfortunes
that befell the product's cover-boys.
People started
noticing a pattern when the Atlanta Falcons' star
player, quarterback Michael Vick, was injured during
the 2003 preseason after posing for the cover of
Madden 2004. Vick suffered a broken fibula in a
pre-season game against Baltimore, the day after
Madden 2004 was released to retailers. The injury
resulted in a painful 5-11 year for Vick's team.
Some of the people that believed in the curse stated
that the player featured on the box would get
injured, or simply have a weak season. EA officials
point out that Ray Lewis and Eddie George appeared
on the covers of the 2005 and 2001 versions,
respectively, and had successful seasons without
injury.
But as a result of the
"Madden Curse" modern day legend,
WagerWeb.com (See
Web Site Here), one of the largest sports
betting sites on the Internet, posted odds this past
weekend for sports fans to bet on whether or not the
star of the new Madden NFL 2007 video game cover,
Shaun Alexander, will be “cursed” for the upcoming
football season.
You can learn more
here (note: WagerWeb.com pays a percentage back on
all betting losses during the year)
Alexander’s total rushing yards have increased each
of the last three years (1435, 1696 and 1880). Now,
Wagerweb.com challenges bettors to predict whether
or not Alexander will rush for more or less than
1750 yards this season.
“So far, bettors are picking the
under,” says Dave Johnson, CEO of WagerWeb.com. He
adds, “The curse is recognized because football
stars featured on the cover of this video game have
injured themselves or produced below average numbers
the following season. 1750 yards is by no means a
bad year, however, the 2006 league MVP Alexander is
consistent and should be able to reach this total,
unless the curse takes hold.”
The first NFL player to be on a Madden NFL cover was
Barry Sanders in 1999, for Madden 2000. He shared
the cover with the then-customary picture of John
Madden. However, a week before training camp began
in 1999, Sanders abruptly retired -- ending his
career and leaving the Detroit Lions without their
star running back of the previous 10 years. Sanders'
part in the curse is debated because he is not
pictured alone on the box, and he had willingly
retired.
Eddie George, then of the Tennessee Titans, who
graced the 2001 box, was the second 'cursed' player.
He was cursed by bobbling a pass in the playoffs,
which was then intercepted by Baltimore Ravens
linebacker Ray Lewis, who returned the ball for a
touchdown. George, (up until then) known for his
durability, would also get injured the following
season. After regularly averaging nearly 4 yards per
carry in his first five seasons, he averaged only 3
yards per carry in the 2001 season. For the rest of
his career, he never averaged more than 3.5 yards
per carry.
Former Minnesota Vikings star quarterback Daunte
Culpepper appeared on the 2002 cover, and the
Vikings struggled to a 4-7 record until Culpepper
was shelved with a season-ending knee injury.
Running back Marshall Faulk of the St. Louis Rams,
who was on the 2003 box, suffered an injury and had
a bad season overall. He has yet to break 1,000
yards rushing since.
In "Madden 2004", Atlanta Falcons Quarterback
Michael Vick was injured during a preseason game,
suffering a fractured right fibula. Vick played in
only 5 regular season games, finishing with only 585
yards passing and 4 touchdowns. The Atlanta Falcons
missed the playoffs, finishing the season with 5
wins and 11 losses, a stark contrast on the team's
9-6-1 record the season prior.
Madden 2005 featured Ray Lewis of the Baltimore
Ravens. He had an injury that kept him out of the
last game of the regular season. The Ravens won it,
but still missed the playoffs altogether. It was
also Lewis' first season without a single
interception, after posting a career-high 6 the
previous year.
The Philadelphia Eagles' star quarterback Donovan
McNabb was on the cover of Madden NFL 06. Prior to
the 2005 season, McNabb had a highly-publicized feud
with his teammate, wide receiver Terrell Owens (who
was, ironically, the cover athlete for rival 2K
Sports' ESPN NFL 2K5, though no "Curse" had been
associated with that series of games). Also, in the
first game of the regular season, McNabb took a hit
to the chest from the helmet of Atlanta Falcons
defensive tackle Chad Lavalais. After the game, it
was revealed that McNabb had a 'sports hernia' [[2]]
that needed surgery. Refusing to have the required
season-ending surgery while the Eagles (who had made
the Super Bowl the previous season) still had a
chance to make the playoffs, McNabb played in
discomfort and pain throughout the season. In the
tenth game of the season, McNabb re-injured his
groin while attempting to tackle Dallas Cowboys
defensive back Roy Williams, who was returning an
interception for an eventual game-winning touchdown.
On November 21, 2005, McNabb, on the advice of his
doctors, opted to have season-ending surgery for his
sports hernia; the Eagles had been eliminated from
playoff contention.
On April 20, 2006, Electronic Arts officials, with
the help of ESPN, announced Seattle Seahawks running
back Shaun Alexander will be on the cover of the
2007 version of the title. [3] In the 2005 regular
season, Alexander rushed for an NFL-high 1,880 yards
and setting an NFL record for touchdowns in a season
with 28. He also led the Seahawks to a berth in
Super Bowl XL, earned an invitation to the NFL Pro
Bowl (which he did not play in, due to a sprained
right foot), and was named NFL MVP.
Year of Release Madden Title Cover Athlete Potential
Curse:
2000 2001 Eddie George Key fumble vs. Ravens in
playoffs; team lost in Divisional Playoff after
losing Super Bowl XXXIV
2001 2002 Daunte Culpepper Missed 5 games in 2001;
team missed playoffs after losing NFC Championship
in 2000
2002 2003 Marshall Faulk Least productive season as
a Ram up to that point; team missed playoffs after
losing Super Bowl XXXVI
2003 2004 Michael Vick Missed 11 games in 2003; team
missed playoffs after losing Divisional Playoff in
2002
2004 2005 Ray Lewis Critically seen as an off year;
team missed playoffs after losing Wild Card Playoff
in 2003
2005 2006 Donovan McNabb Missed 7 games in 2005;
team missed playoffs after losing Super Bowl XXXIX
2006 2007 Shaun Alexander TBD
Related
Articles:
Betting on the Madden Curse
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Sports911.com News
Wire
Originally published April 27, 2006 10:30 pm EST |
