NFL Madden Curse betting odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook

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NFL Madden Curse betting odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook

NFL Madden Curse   The Madden Curse, also known as the Madden Cover Jinx, is a myth involving the video game series Madden NFL, stating that the season a player appears on the cover, that player will be cursed with either an injury or poor performance.     Before 1998, the cover included only an image of John Madden. Players who have appeared on the cover in subsequent years have generally failed to reproduce their success of the previous years, for a variety of reasons. Marshall Faulk, Daunte Culpepper, Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, and Shaun Alexander all have suffered injuries in their season appearing on the cover.     These performances and injuries resulted in speculation of a curse. The "Madden Curse" has evolved into a much-reported phenomenon, with several news and sports media outlets referring to it as a phenomenon on par with the fabled Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx.

In total, the 10 cover players since 1999 had a total of 39 Pro Bowl appearances prior to their Madden cover appearances, compared with just 4 Pro Bowl appearances afterward.

 

Alleged victims

Garrison Hearst (1999)

Garrison Hearst was the first player to ever be featured on a Madden cover, appearing on Madden NFL 99. Hearst's 1998 season was the best of his career, rushing for 1,570 yards and seven touchdowns. He led the San Francisco 49ers to the playoffs and a wild card win over the Green Bay Packers, but on the first play of the divisional game versus the Atlanta Falcons, he suffered a bad ankle break and his team would go on to lose the game.

(it is worth noting that there are two versions of the Madden NFL '99 cover, one with Hearst and the more-common one with John Madden.)

 

 

Barry Sanders and Dorsey Levens (2000)

 

Barry Sanders shared the cover with the then-customary picture of John Madden on Madden NFL 2000. 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. Dorsey Levens was featured on the 2000 cover that was released in PAL regions. After rushing for 1,034 yards in 1999, he gained only 224 yards from scrimmage in 2000. Ultimately, Levens was cut by the Green Bay Packers after the 2001 season. Levens managed to hang on for three more seasons of journeyman work with the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. Levens retired as a Packer after the 2004 season.

 

Eddie George (2001)

 

Eddie George, then of the Tennessee Titans, who graced the Madden NFL 2001 box, is often said to be the next 'cursed' player, even though in the year he was on the cover, he had career highs in yardage and touchdowns. Curse advocates point to the 2001 season following his appearance on the cover, during which he averaged only 3 yards per carry and rushed for career lows of 939 yards and 5 touchdowns due to a nagging toe injury that bothered him the entire season. For the rest of his career, he never averaged more than 3.4 yards per carry.

 

George's curse can be argued to have started the year he was on the cover because in 2001 AFC Championship game George had a costly fumble that lost the game for Tennessee. He also fumbled 7 times during the 2000 regular season, losing a career high 4 fumbles.

 

Daunte Culpepper (2002)

 

Former Minnesota Vikings star quarterback Daunte Culpepper appeared on the Madden NFL 2002 cover after throwing for nearly 4,000 yards and 33 touchdowns while rushing for 470 yards and 7 more scores in the 2000 season. However, Culpepper struggled with turnovers in the first 11 games of the 2001 season, throwing 13 interceptions and only 14 touchdown passes. A back injury ended his season in the 11th game.

 

Marshall Faulk (2003)

 

Running back Marshall Faulk of the St. Louis Rams, who was on the Madden NFL 2003 box, suffered an ankle injury, missing five games. He did amass nearly 1,600 total yards and 10 touchdowns in limited time in 2002; however, it was a steep decline from his 2,000 yard and 21 touchdown campaign of 2001. He never broke through the 1,000 yards rushing mark for the rest of his career.

 

Michael Vick (2004)

 

Five days after Madden NFL 2004 was released featuring Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick on the cover, Vick was injured during a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens, suffering a fractured right fibula. Vick played in only the last 5 regular season games, finishing with just 585 yards passing and 4 touchdowns. The Atlanta Falcons missed the playoffs and were already out of contention by the time Vick returned from his injury. The Falcons finished the season with a record of 5-11, a drop from their 9-6-1 record the season prior.

 

Ray Lewis (2005)

 

Madden NFL 2005 featured Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens, the first defensive player ever to appear on the cover of a Madden game. He broke his wrist, an injury that kept him out of the last game of the regular season. It was also Lewis' first season without a single interception, after posting a career-high 6 the previous year - although admittedly, interceptions are a secondary statistic for linebackers. He recorded a career low of 77 tackles after having two consecutive 200+ seasons and being the leauge leader in tackles. The Baltimore Ravens also failed to make the playoffs that season (2004), after winning their division the year before. Furthermore, in Week 6 of the 2005 season, Ray Lewis' season was ended by an injury.

 

Donovan McNabb (2006)

 

After leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl in 2004, the Philadelphia Eagles star quarterback Donovan McNabb was on the cover of Madden NFL 06. Throughout the 2005 season, McNabb had had a highly-publicized feud with his teammate, wide receiver Terrell Owens. During the 2005 season, McNabb suffered a sports hernia in the first game of the season against the Atlanta Falcons. Even though it needed surgery McNabb continued to play through the injury. In the tenth game of the season, McNabb re-injured his groin when he threw an interception that was returned by Roy Williams of the Dallas Cowboys, and subsequently decided to have season-ending surgery for his sports hernia. It should also be noted that in the following season of 2006 -- Game 10 again (week 11) -- McNabb tore his ACL quite suddenly in a loss against the Titans (31-13), ending his season. He had gone into that game tied with Peyton Manning for the league lead with 18 touchdowns and was second in passing yards with 2,569.

 

Shaun Alexander (2007)

 

Alexander had one of the best statistical seasons ever in the 2005-2006 season, as he rushed for 1,880 yards and scored what was a record 28 total touchdowns. Alexander, who had missed one start in his previous 64 contests, sustained a broken foot after he was on the Madden 07 cover. He missed six starts and failed to rush for 1,000 yards for the first time since 2000.

 

Criticisms

 

While it appears that the victims to the curse have had off seasons after performing exceptionally well, many regard this as simple regression toward the mean. That is, these featured athletes' performances are so outstanding that in fact they should not be expected to repeat them. Also, defenses usually key in on a player who had an exceptional season prior. Finally, the idea of having a "best season" entails that only one season will be a best season. More explicitly, one cannot have two best seasons and any given best season cannot be beaten.

 

Another issue in some cases may be the matter of workload. Both Eddie George in 2000 and Shaun Alexander in 2005 recorded career highs in carries. This high workload contributed to their impressive totals in yards and touchdowns, but the additional wear and tear this workload entailed may have contributed to their injuries in the following seasons.

 

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