Profizzle99
Cheesehead
Very Funny, taken from here
Fantasy football owners rejoice ... the Madden curse is over!
After making fantasy enthusiasts (and some NFL head coaches) quake in their boots for the better part of the past decade, the people at EA Sports have called an audible.
Brett Favre, who retired from the NFL earlier this offseason, is on the cover of the 20th anniversary edition of Madden 2009.
He made the announcement on Thursday night's edition of The Late Show with David Letterman.
Unless Favre takes a page out of the book of Roger Clemens and decides to "unretire," the now infamous curse that haunted players on the past 10 covers is over for at least one season. For those unfamiliar with the significance of this negative phenomenon, let's take a look at its recent emergence as one of the biggest curses in sports. Even for those who consider jinxes or hexes to be foolish, it's hard to overlook the fact that whoever has donned the Madden cover has suffered a serious ailment or a decrease in statistical success.
Garrison Hearst (1999): Hearst was the first athlete to ever be seen on a Madden cover (John Madden himself was on the cover in previous seasons). The veteran rushed for a career-best 1,570 yards and seven touchdowns in the 1998 regular season, but Hearst would sustain a serious ankle ailment in a postseason loss to the Atlanta Falcons and was not able to return to action until 2001. Superstitious people could argue that the Madden curse had cost Hearst several seasons of his pro football career.
Barry Sanders (2000): Sanders rushed for 1,491 yards in 1998 and was scheduled to be on the cover for 2000, but he decided to retire before the start of the season. Dorsey Levens, who rushed for 1,034 yards and scored 10 total touchdowns in 1999, replaced Sanders in some versions of the cover. Levens went on to rush for a mere 224 yards and three touchdowns in 2000 and had a combined 1,183 rushing yards between Green Bay, Philadelphia and the New York Giants over what were the final four seasons of his career.
Eddie George (2001): George seemed to avoid the Madden curse in 2000, as he recorded career bests in both rushing yards (1,509) and total touchdowns (16), but it would victimize him in 2001. The Ohio State product had what was a career-low 939 rushing yards and scored five touchdowns that season. He also averaged a mediocre 876 yards in his final three seasons. That was 499 fewer yards than the 1,375 he averaged in his first five seasons, or before he appeared on the Madden cover.
Daunte Culpepper (2002): Culpepper earned his appearance on the Madden cover after a 2000 season that saw him record 3,937 passing yards, 470 rushing yards and 40 total touchdowns, but the curse struck him down in 2001. He would miss the final five weeks due to an injured knee and finished that season with 2,612 passing yards, 416 rushing yards and 19 total touchdowns. Culpepper's career has since taken a downward turn. He had short stints in Miami and Oakland and is now a free agent headed into the 2008 season.
Marshall Faulk (2003): A surefire first-ballot Hall of Fame running back, Faulk was a statistical machine before he donned the 2003 cover. An injured ankle cost him two contests in 2002, and he failed to rush for 1,000 yards for the first time since 1996. Faulk would never again reach the 1,000-yard mark in his career, and his numbers declined in each season after his appearance on the Madden cover. Since Faulk was such a fantasy football superstar, the curse took on a life of its own when it seemed to strike him down.
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Michael Vick (2004): Even a versatile athlete like Vick couldn't elude the dreaded curse, as he sustained a broken right fibula in a preseason game versus the Baltimore Ravens and was forced to miss the first 11 contests of the regular season due to the ailment. He was able to make five starts late in the season, but Vick finished with just 585 passing yards, 255 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Vick now sits in a prison for his participation in an awful dog-fighting ring and might never play pro football again.
Ray Lewis (2005): Lewis was the first (and only to this point in time) defensive athlete to be featured on the Madden cover, but he too fell victim to the curse. The All-Pro linebacker missed one start in 2004 due to a broken wrist and failed to record an interception for the first time in his career (he had a career-best six interceptions in 2003). He also missed 10 starts due to injuries in 2005. Lewis is still considered one of the greatest linebackers in the current era, but the Madden curse had its affect.
Donovan McNabb (2006): McNabb led the Eagles to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXIX and was on the cover of the 2006 version of Madden's game. He would go on to sustain a sports hernia in the first week of the 2005 season and attempted to continue on despite the ailment, but he would bow out after nine starts. The curse also seemed to hurt him in 2006, as McNabb missed six weeks with an injured knee. McNabb did start 14 games last season, but he was one of the least consistent quarterbacks in all of fantasy football.
Shaun Alexander (2007): Alexander had one of the best statistical seasons ever in 2005, as he rushed for 1,880 yards and scored a then record 28 total touchdowns. Alexander, who had missed one start in his previous 64 contests, sustained an injured foot after he was on the cover last year. He missed six starts in 2006 and failed to rush for 1,000 yards for the first time since 2000. Alexander missed six starts (three games) in 2007 due to injuries, and his 716 rushing yards was his worst total since 2000.
Vince Young (2008): Young was considered a solid breakout candidate in fantasy football circles headed into 2007, but instead he had a miserable statistical season. He had more turnovers (20) than touchdowns (12), rushed for 157 fewer yards than his rookie season despite 10 more carries and missed his first game ever (high school, college or pro) due to an injured quadriceps. His lack of production landed Young on the waiver wire in countless fantasy formats, and now his value for 2008 drafts is in question.
Brett Favre (2009): With Favre out of football (at least, we think he's out of football) after an illustrious 17-year NFL career, the Madden cover curse will be placed on the backburner for the first time since the late 1990s. Of course, ultra-superstitious owners might want to avoid Aaron Rodgers at all costs in fantasy football drafts.
After all, Rodgers will take over for the man who was next in line to be cursed ...
