The Madden Curse: Bringin' it back!

Last week, the average bro wrote about conspiracies in the NFL Draft. None of them came true. Today, guest blogger, Andrew Rago, brings us back to conspiracies. There's no doubting this one!

As any Maddenite knows, the privilege of gracing the cover of EA Sports Madden video game comes with a price. 

Eddie George was the first official  Madden cover-athlete in 2001(Garrison Hearst and Dorsey Levens made the cover on alternate versions before Eddie George). He went on to have arguably his best season, rushing for 1,509 yards and 14 touchdowns, but a bobbled pass in the playoff game against Baltimore was returned for a touchdown, and sealed Tennessee’s fate. Eddie George’s career was never the same, always hobbled by injuries. Eddie’s yards-per-carry for his next four seasons were a measly 3.0, 3.4 and 3.3 in his final two seasons as a pro. Many claim this to be the birth of the madden curse, but was it?

On the official Madden 2000 cover, John Madden is prominently featured, but there is a visible player in the background.

Let's use the Sports Pro and the Average Bro forensics department to clean this up a bit.

Wait for it!

BOOM!

That player is none-other-than Barry Sanders. Barry Sanders was the first NFL player to be on an official cover of the Madden video game. Barry Sanders abruptly retired before the 1999 season. Now my theory is, it is not a Madden curse, but a Barry Sanders curse.

A Barry Sanders curse? I know what you are thinking, and yes, I am drunk, but hear me out. The first ten years of Madden, John Madden was on the cover in many animated poses. A decade of being out in the wild, hunting for Turducken, not once was John Madden hurt. Yet once Barry Sanders was in the background of the cover of Madden 2000, all of a sudden injuries start piling up for the cover athletes that followed. Eddie, Culpepper, Faulk, Vick, Ray Lewis, McNabb, Shaun Alexander, Vince Young, the iron man Brett Favre, Polamalu, Brees, Peyton Hillis all were subjected to the Barry Sanders curse, be it an injury or an “off” season statistically. 

Now there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Megatron broke the Madden curse with his record-breaking season, and now-a-days nobody is talking about the Madden curse anymore. The Madden curse was a hot topic that got people spreading the word of the game, thus generating profit without spending money on advertising. It also covered the fact that Madden has been the same game, year in and year out (albeit graphic adjustments). Before EA Sports bought the exclusive license to NFL football games, (their exclusive license contract is up soon) Madden once had to compete with games such as ESPN 2K for NFL football game sales. So what is EA Sports to do? Go back to what made them a titan in the video game industry and put Barry Sanders back on the cover to restart the curse and get people talking once again. New school vs old school? Come on, why do it now? Why not for the twentieth anniversary of the game, what makes the twenty-fifth so special? I believe this year’s Madden cover voting was rigged to get Barry Sanders back on the cover to start the curse again. Barry himself even admitted to starting the curse!

The Barry Sanders curse is not exclusive to Madden cover athletes. Many blame Washington head coach Mike Shanahan for RG3’s injury, and understandably so. Yet, is blaming Shanahan justifiable? Griffin was clearly injured, in pain and frankly did not look anything like the RG3 we were accustomed to see playing. Griffin should have been pulled, and you can blame Shanahan for keeping him in, but you cannot blame him for Griffin’s injury. Blame Barry Sanders instead.

This year’s version of the game, NCAA Football 13, featured two athletes on its cover. RG3 was one of the athletes featured along with none-other-than Barry Sanders. RG3’s remarkable rookie season was plagued by injuries after Barry Sanders donned the cover with him.

You can argue Barry Sanders even cursed the Detroit Lions as well. Since 1999, Detroit has had a plethora of very early first round draft picks that are considered busts. Detroit was also the first team in NFL history to go 0-16. Barry’s old position has even been cursed! Since Barry retired before the 1999 season, Detroit has only had three 1,000 yard rushers. Only three 1,000 yard rushers in a fourteen year span! Not sold yet? Barry’s old college, Oklahoma State, in 2011, were the second ranked team and a lock to play in the NCAA National Championship Game With only two regular season games remaining. Oklahoma State was shocked by the Iowa State Cyclones in double overtime and lost any aspirations of making the national title game. Barry Sanders is cursed!

And then, just as the Lions are showing even the smallest bit of promise, Barry Sanders, toting his new cursed copy of "Madden 25", announced Ezekiel Ansah as their first overall pick. So much for his future.

I am not buying the quiet, soft-spoken humbled guy everyone sees. You do not dominate the game as Barry did and stay humble. I believe it is a façade so no one realizes the trouble that comes with being associated with Barry. The jig is up, Barry, you are on notice!

Andrew Rago claims to be studying Criminology at Penn State University, but he's probably actually hiding from the FBI in his shed.