Since emerging onto the video game market in 1988, EA Sport’s Madden NFL has become one of the most popular video games of all time.
In 2007, Madden broke records by selling 2 million units during the game’s first week.
“I play Madden every day,” said Domenio Smith, a sophomore economics major, while actually playing the game. “Every chance I get, I’m playing Madden.”
Credited for having some of the most realistic graphics and the best game plays available, Madden has become a staple in the lives of football fanatics.
“It has better features than all the rest,” said Adim Obata, a sophomore defensive lineman at Furman University. “Games like [NFL] 2K8 were good, but it wasn’t Madden good. It’s almost like a brand. If you’re not playing Madden, you’re not playing a real football game.”
A consistent best-seller, Madden NFL is one of the few video games with a world outside of the console. Since 1995, each year the Madden Bowl has taken place in the hosting Super Bowl city where NFL players gather to compete against each other and see who has the best skills on the game.
The winner of the competition gets credited in the next season’s Madden NFL. The game has even had its own show on ESPN2 where they follow the top Madden players during tournaments.
Each year, in addition to the tournaments and upgraded graphic content, avid Madden supporters wait to see who will be chosen to grace the game’s box cover.
Although the deal normally pays its cover athlete about $100,000 to $200,000, it also involves a different price – or as some call it, a “curse.”
Since John Madden stopped appearing on the cover in 1999, every player who has been the cover athlete has been either injured during that season or suffered from a lackluster performance, thus creating the Madden “curse.”
“Of course I believe in the curse,” said Darryl Kemp, a sophomore psychology major. “Every person on [the cover] gets hurt. It’s a guarantee.”
For example, 2002 cover athlete Daunte Culpepper, former Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback, suffered a knee injury and threw only 14 touchdown passes in contrast to his 40 touchdown passes in the previous season, resulting in one of the worst records for the Vikings in 20 years.
Similarly, Donovan McNabb, 2006 Madden cover athlete, was victim to a sports hernia, and after only 10 games was forced to end the season.
Other cover athletes involved in the Madden “curse” include Michael Vick in 2004, Ray Lewis in 2005, Shaun Alexander in 2007, Vince Young in 2008 and Brett Favre in 2009.
Despite the outstanding evidence, EA Sports does not believe the “curse” actually exists.
Senior product manager of the Madden NFL franchise, Anthony Stevenson, responded to the curse accusations via e-mail.
“While we don’t believe in the Madden ‘curse,’ we think it is fantastic that there is so much enthusiasm around the Madden NFL franchise, that fans have made so much of this. It certainly makes for great conversation.”
Regardless of the Madden “curse,” being chosen as the cover athlete to one the most popular sports games out is still looked upon as a privilege and mark of success.
“I would love to one day be on the cover of Madden,” said Neal Pogue, a sophomore defensive tackle for Jackson State University. “Hopefully, I could be the one to break the curse. And even if not, it’s just an honor in itself. It’s like saying you’ve made it.
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