Dear Larry Fitzgerald,
I have been trying to evolve as a fan and put all of the hype about curses behind me.
In particular, the Madden curse is quite problematic for me.
The notion that a player will end up injured if he has an exceptional season and is placed on the cover of Madden NFL is ludicrous.
But, it is ominously occurring almost every season.
Obviously, you are aware of your picture on this year’s installment of the popular game, so you know where this is going.
Let’s start at the beginning.
Madden 2000: Dorsey Levens and the Packers were at the tail end of a great run in the mid- to late ’90s.
Levens became the first player to have his image on the cover of Madden after the Hall of Fame coach’s picture was used for all the previous editions.
He also became the first victim.
Levens spent much of the season after appearing on the cover nursing an injured knee.
He was never the same and was subsequently released by the Packers following the 2001 season.
Madden 2001: After playing a pivotal role in the Titans’ Super Bowl run the year prior, Eddie George appeared on the cover and saw a drastic decline in his numbers.
Madden 2002: Daunte Culpepper led his team to the NFC Championship in 2000 and got the cover the next year.
But he suffered a season-ending knee injury with five games left, and the Vikings finished 5-11.
Are you paying attention, Larry?
Madden 2003: Marshall Faulk was one of the most productive backs in the league leading up to his cover shot.
But the following years were spent nursing an ankle injury and watching his numbers plummet.
Madden 2004: One day after his cover of Madden appeared in stores, Michael Vick broke his leg.
One day.
Madden 2005: This year’s cover went to Ray Lewis, and the Ravens missed the playoffs in one of Lewis’ worst statistical seasons ever.
The following year, he tore his hamstring and missed over half of the season.
Madden 2006: After Donovan McNabb was named as the cover man, he boasted, “I don’t believe in the curse at all.”
Game 1: McNabb sustained a sports hernia, which forced him to miss the final seven games of the season.
2007: Shaun Alexander was rewarded with the cover after his team made the Super Bowl the season before.
In Week 3, he broke his foot and missed the rest of the year.
Coincidence?
Madden 2008: Next, Madden victimized a player who claimed he had never missed a start at any level of football.
But Vince Young ended up missing more than half the season with a quadriceps injury.
Madden 2009: The NFL’s ironman, Brett Favre, was no match for the curse, either.
Although he played in every game, Favre admitted that he played the end of the season with a torn biceps, which could have caused the Jets’ collapse.
Madden 2010: Troy Polamalu and you, Larry, appear on the cover of this year’s Madden.
And I would find a way to get my image off that cover if I were you.
Polamalu was injured in the opening game of the season and is expected to miss 3-6 weeks.
Good luck, Larry,
Erik
Reach Erik at emschimm@asu.edu.
