Madden was created in 1988, it is perhaps the most important American game of Football in the world, and sometimes many games of other sports borrow features of the game that they adapt for their own franchises.
It is so good that many fans of other sports love it, and many professional players use it to learn the plays they should do in their games, because of the realism it handles.
Every year they improve the graphics and gameplay options, it is not known what the ceiling of the franchise that never disappoints. But it does have a bit of an urban legend. They say it’s cursed
After more than 20 years of the iconic video game franchise’s history, it’s nearly impossible to escape the Madden curse. Most of the players who have starred on the game’s cover suffered an injury the following season.
Of the 22 players who have been chosen to grace the cover of Madden games, 16 have had troubled or abruptly shortened seasons after their cover debut, including several who suffered season-ending injuries shortly after their game hit the shelves.
It is important to go here because you will find the best news of esports mobile games so you will know which are the best and you will have an idea of the current trends and the best games of today.
This curse is not found in any other game, it even seems that appearing on the cover of a sports game raises your level. This only happens in this game that legendary Oakland Raiders coach John Madden was very proud of.
Let’s review the most emblematic titles that had a player that got injured
Madden NFL 99
After joining the 49ers in 1997, the former University of Georgia running back set franchise records for single-season yards and collective rushing/receiving yards in 1998. He is also known for achieving one of the longest careers in NFL history.
After taking the title of first-ever cover athlete for the next edition of Madden NFL, Hearst led his team straight to the playoffs. Unfortunately, he suffered a gruesome ankle fracture in the second-round game against the Atlanta Falcons. Post-operative complications resulted in the death of one of the bones in his foot, and the early diagnosis indicated that he might never return to the field. Hearst missed the next two seasons while recovering from his injury.
Madden NFL 2000
Green Bay running back Dorsey Levens was relatively new to the NFL before appearing on the cover of Madden NFL. With only two seasons rushing for over 1,000 yards, Levens was a surprising choice for the game’s cover.
However, the season following the one on the cover would prove to be his last on the starting lineup. The Packers eventually released Levens in 2001.
Madden NFL 2003
Already a Super Bowl champion and multiple-time winner of the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award, Marshall Faulk was the centerpiece of an offense dubbed “The Greatest Show on Turf” when he was named the cover athlete for Madden NFL 2003.
The season that followed Faulk’s appearance on the Madden NFL cover would be the beginning of the decline of one of the NFL’s most prolific running backs. The 2002 season would end up being the first in which he was unable to rush for more than 1,000 yards, and his yardage totals continued to decline in the seasons that followed. He eventually missed the entire 2006 season due to knee surgery and never returned to the league.
Madden NFL 2004
Michael Vick, one of the league’s most versatile players, redefined the quarterback position during his first few seasons, setting records for rushing yards by a quarterback,
While other quarterbacks had had success running the ball before Vick joined the league, he raised the bar for mobile quarterbacks with nearly 3,000 passing yards. He also led the Atlanta Falcons to a playoff victory that year.
Shortly after it was announced that Vick would be the 2004 Madden NFL cover athlete, he fractured his right fibula during a preseason game. The injury forced him to miss the first 11 games of the season.
Madden NFL 2017
Gronkowski finished the 2015-2016 season with 10 touchdowns and 1,018 yards on the season and helped lead the Patriots to the playoffs for another year. He capped off another excellent season by being selected to the Pro Bowl and AP All-Pro team for the fourth time in his career and this made him the cover of the famous game.
The curse came when Gronkowski missed the first two games of the 2016 season with a nagging hamstring injury. He appeared sparingly in weeks three and four, but didn’t start until week five against the Cleveland Browns, where he racked up 109 receiving yards. He was productive as a starter in the Patriots’ next five games, but in Week 11 against Seattle, Gronk suffered a lung contusion after taking a big hit from a Seahawks defender.
Gronk did not participate in the Patriots’ Week 11 game against San Francisco. He returned to the starting lineup the following week against the New York Jets, but left the game early, before he had even caught a single pass, with a back injury. Gronk underwent surgery to repair a herniated disc, and was placed on injured reserve on December 3, 2016, where he would remain for the remainder of the season.
The game is still one of the best sellers in the sports genre, every year people wonder if the athlete who will appear on the cover will suffer any injury.
It has been several editions that this curse has been diluted, before the players were afraid to appear, but now they fight for the cover.
Also EA Sports has tried not to use so many modern players, because although they deny the curse, they prefer not to risk it and try to be creative with the covers including retired players, or even John Madden who will appear in this year’s cover.
Appearing in Madden as a featured player is one of the most important moments in a football player’s career, perhaps only surpassed by a Super Bowl.
Which other player do you remember? Do you believe in this curse?