Every year, video game consouers around the country begin clamoring for the release of one game that begins its hype in April and climaxes with the release of the game in August. That game, of course, is the coveted, and haunted, Madden series.
Now I know those of you who don’t watch sports and read up on your video game twitter accounts, are asking yourself, what does he mean by haunted? How could a video game be haunted?
Well for years, pundits and critics have claimed that whoever graces the cover of the new Madden game that year is doomed to fail and fall under what sports enthusiasts everywhere have coined as the “Madden Curse.”
Let’s take a look at past cover boys and how the success of becoming the face of the video game industry’s best-selling franchise has affected their season that year.
The first was in 1999, when San Francisco running back Garrison Hearst was pictured on the cover of the game. He had a solid regular season (3rd in rushing), but in the NFL playoffs against the Atlanta Falcons, he suffered a severe broken ankle that required Hearst to miss two full NFL seasons. In 2000, Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders was featured over Madden’s shoulder and how did Sanders fare that season? Well he retired abruptly in July before the start of the season.
In 2001, Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George was selected as the Madden cover boy and responded by failing to break 1,000 yards and his team missing the playoffs. Ex-Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper flaunted his arm on the cover of the 2002 Madden game and during that season, he missed 4 games with injury, threw for 1300 less yards and 19 less TD's then in 2000.
See a trend yet? No? Well let me give you some more food for thought.
In 2003, St. Louis Ram’s running back Marshall Faulk had his picture plastered across the cover and during that subsequent year, Faulk rushed for 430 less yards and had 4 less TDs compared to 2001. Faulk's worst season since 1996. Coming into the 2004 version of the game, no player was hotter than Michael Vick, which gave the cover spot to the Atlanta Falcons signal caller. That year, however, Vick suffered a broken leg in the preseason and missed the first 11 games of the season, all stats were down from the previous year.
As for the 2005 season, the curse seemed to be broken with the installment of Baltimore Raven linebacker Ray Lewis. His numbers were slightly down from the year before but were still above the league average. He did, however, miss one game and failed to record an interception for the first time in his career. Also, he dropped a crucial interception in a playoff game against the Tennessee Titans that season which cost his team the game.
For Madden 2006, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and savior Donovan Mcnabb suffered a hernia and was lost for the season after appearing on the cover. Mcnabb threw for more interceptions and his yards per attempt and completion percentage were down from 2004. The Eagles finished 6-10, in last place, and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1999
Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander was featured on the Madden 2007 cover of the game after a record-breaking previous season. That year Alexander missed 6 regular season games with a broken foot. He finished the season with 896 yards and 7 touchdowns, which were the lowest since his rookie season. For Madden 2008, the dubious title of Madden cover boy went to Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Vince Young, who proceeded to have a ratio of 2 interceptions for every touchdown he threw that season.
Then for Madden 2009, the video game figured it would get around the curse by featuring Brett Favre, a recently retired Favre, in his Packers uniform. Well, the trick was on them as Favre un-retired and returned to play with the New York Jets. Favre and the Jets started the season hot, but after Favre injured his throwing arm, the season collapsed quickly. Favre threw 6 less TD's and 7 more int's then in 2007. The Jets finished 9-7 after starting 8-3 and missed the playoffs.
So what will happen with the release of the brand new Madden 2010 game, as Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald were selected as the first ever duo cover boys. Is there really such a thing as a Madden Curse?
When thinking about it using general common sense, there is no way that becoming the poster boy for a video game series can affect your career. But when looking at the track record of the past players to grace the Madden cover, it is almost too spooky.
Critics have been talking about this ‘Madden Curse’ for years now and it continues to happen with each player. Is it really fate or is it merely a coincidence?
While people worry about whether Polamalu will get the hair yanked out of his head or if Fitzgerald will tear an ACL, the real video game fans are looking forward to the release of the game and so am I. In a recently released interview with “Madden NFL 2010” senior producer Phil Frazier, he gave a few hints as to what to expect with the new game, building the excitement for one of the most hyped games of the summer.
The first new feature of the game is a program called Pro-Tak. This new technology system “is a new animation technology that helps drive several new features in the game," Frazier said. "This includes nine-man gang tackles, a brand new pocket for the offensive line, steerable blocks, steerable tackles and the fight for the fumble feature that really lets you fight for that ball at the bottom of the pile.”
That’s right. a fight for the fumble feature. In perhaps the most exciting new feature to come about in any NFL franchise football game is this new piece of heaven. The fight for the fumble will allow you to scrum on the bottom of the pile, fighting for that elusive turnover, mashing buttons on your controller to keep the ball for your side. Never before have players been able to fight for the ball and Madden 2010 will give gamers the opportunity to do that.
Another sweet new piece of technology making its debut in the Madden 2010 game is the quarterback avoidance system. This system will allow you to continue to look downfield for receivers as the pocket collapses around you. When you have a defender breathing down the back of your neck, your controller will begin to rumble and you have a second to flick a button to hopefully avoid from becoming that player’s sack lunch.
Other features in the game include the introduction of the “Wildcat” offense which, for those of you who have no idea what a wildcat is, is when the running back assumes the position of quarterback and then with a running back next to them can either hand off or run it themselves. They can also throw the ball if you have a really athletic quarterback.
The whole purpose of these new features is to make the game as real as possible, to bring what you see during games on Sunday into your game console. The Madden franchise has continually provided excellence in the field of sporting games, proving to be the leader in technological advances in the field, making the game as real as possible. The series has been able to remain a mainstay in popular culture and continues to be a giant in the video gaming industry.
Madden 2010 looks to build on the previous success of the franchise and with these new features, there is no doubt that the 2010 reincarnation of the game will prove to be the best yet.
The jury is still out, however, in regards to the curse, but we’re only 3 months from release and 4 months away from seeing if the Madden Curse will strike again.
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