Column: Madden curse strikes again

By Matt Rothrock
Collegian Reporter
October 11, 2006

Daunte Culpepper. Marshall Faulk. Donovan McNabb. What do all three of these NFL players have in common? They were all on the cover of the Madden NFL video game series.

They also have had injuries that have cost most or all of their season. And coincidentally, they all got injured the same year they appeared on the cover. Coincidence? I think not.

Those three aren’t the only NFL stars to feel the wrath of the “Madden Curse.” Ever since they started using a player on the cover in 2001, that player would have something bad happen to him, whether it be suffering an injury, or his team having a bad year, or both.

In 2001, the first year that EA Sports decided to put an NFL player on the cover instead of John Madden, they chose powerful halfback Eddie George. His curse came in the playoffs, though, where he bobbled a pass and it was intercepted by Baltimore Ravens’ linebacker Ray Lewis, who returned it for a touchdown.

Things went downhill for George, who suffered an injury the next season. He rushed for career lows of 939 yards and five touchdowns after having over 1,300 yards in each of his first five seasons.

The next player to be featured on the cover was Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback Daunte Culpepper in 2002. After the Vikings limped to a 4-7 record, Culpepper’s season was ended by a knee injury. Since then, Culpepper has only had one season with great numbers. In 2005, Culpepper’s already nightmarish season was finally ended, thanks to damage to the three major ligaments in his knee (ACL, PCL and MCL).

Marshall Faulk was the next victim of the curse, breaking his ankle in 2003, which cost him five games. He would never break 1,000 rushing yards again.

The 2004 edition of Madden featured Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback Michael Vick. It didn’t take too long for the curse to hit him, as Vick fractured his fibula in a preseason game. The Falcons would finish 5-11 after going 9-6-1 the previous year.

Madden NFL 2005 had Ray Lewis on the cover. He escaped rather easily, or so he thought. The Baltimore Ravens failed to make the playoffs that season, but Ray Lewis suffered a season-ending injury the following year.

The curse really hit home last year, as the Eagles’ own Donovan McNabb was the cover boy for the 2006 edition. Injuries and Terrell Owens tore the Eagles’ season apart. McNabb would wind up suffering a sports hernia and having season-ending surgery. The Eagles, crippled by the curse, also failed to make it back to the playoffs, after having reached the Super Bowl the previous season.

And finally, the current pawn in this sick game, Shaun Alexander: the cover boy for Madden NFL 2007. Everyone thought he was invincible; he never missed a game in his seven-year career. But we were wrong. He sustained an injury in his left foot, which was revealed to be a “small” crack on a bone that doesn’t rely on weight. The bottom line is that he will be missing games.

Who will be next to feel the wrath of the curse? Will anyone want to be on the cover anymore? Hopefully they won’t put Madden back on the cover, because I would hate to hear about him choking on a chicken wing and being brought to the hospital.

I would really think twice about being on that deadly cover.

rothrockm1@lasalle.edu