I always say special players also need a bit of luck on their side. On Wednesday Cam Newton got that luck when he was beat out by Calvin Johnson for the right to be on the cover of Madden 2013. We all know by now there is no greater curse in the universe than a player being put on the cover of that video game.
I usually don’t believe in superstitious junk like this but it’s hard to argue with the results. If we look back at players like Garrison Hearts, Dorsey Levens, Daunte Culpepper, Mike Vick, Shaun Alexander, Donovan McNabb, Troy Polamalu, Drew Brees and Peyton Hillis, it’s kind of scary to think what happened to such a great group after appearing on the cover of Madden. Actually, it’s downright eerie.
So will Megatron be the next high-profile player to see his numbers decline because of the Madden Curse? My guess? Johnson breaks at least one NFL receiving record in 2012. The Madden cover may have a history of cursing players but it finally met its match by calling out the best receiver on the planet. Curse or no curse, if I can get Johnson on my fantasy team, I’ll take my chances.
I will say this though; if Johnson gets hurt or has a down year then any player that’s on that cover from now on should be taken off your draft boards. If the curse can get a player as talented as Megatron at the height of his career, it can get anyone.
Garrison Hearst and Dorsey Levens were on the cover of Madden??! That’s the year Hearst had a great regular season and then broke his leg in the playoffs, right? Favre was on too the year he went to the Jets and we know how well that went. Add Marshall Faulk and Vince Young to the list as well. The only 2 guys to beat the curse….Eddie George in 2000, a career year for him, and Ray Lewis in 2004, he was injured and missed most of the season the year after.
There’s definitely something eerie about the curse but I really think it has to do more with a regression to the mean. Most guys go on the cover after a career year, so there’s usually nowhere to go but down the year after. The injury thing can be attributed to the fact that most of the cover players are at the RB or QB position and they are more susceptible to injury in the first place. I’ll probably end up avoiding Megatron due to not wanting to use a top 5-8 pick on a WR or having to pay the top price at WR in the auction. Almost 1,700 yd and 16 TD will not be easy to duplicate.
Fitzgerald beat the curse as well. Listen, it’s all bullshit. We know that being on that cover doesn’t make a guy play bad. It’s like you said. Guys get on the cover after putting up massive numbers and a decline is only natural. I think it’s just freaky coincidence that so many players have fallen off the map after being on the cover. However, I say if Johnson blows out his knee, no player will ever want to be on that cover again. It is weird though.
i believe it all started when they put Barry sanders on the cover and he mysteriously retired before the start of season.
I heard that they were going to just start putting Madden on the Cover but he said he wasn’t ready to die yet.
Ha, that made me laugh out loud. No shit though. Madden probably refuses to let them use his image on the cover anymore. That’s funny. Also, I miss watching Barry Sanders.
My prediction is that STAFFORD, not Johnson gets hurt. While Johnson will likely produce regardless of who his QB is, without Stafford, Johnson will not have the year everyone expects.
I’m taking Stafford and Calvin off my fantasy boards. Both are likely to get drafted too high anyway. That being said, I will remain flexible.
That’s actually a pretty good call. I can see that happening for sure. Unless you want to take Megatron in the 4-7 range you won’t get him in most drafts anyway. I’ll take Dez Bryant and Eric Decker. One of those two will blow up this year I believe.