Tom Brady Treading on Dangerous Grounds…
Last year, Patriots fans rejoiced as New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was declared EA Sports Madden 17 cover athlete. Gronk is considered one of the better, if not the best, tight end in the league so the announcement didn’t come as a shock to fans. After a year of ups and downs for Gronk, eventually the Madden Curse reared its ugly head and Gronk went down with a back injury causing him to miss the rest of the season. Yesterday, Tom Brady was announced as the new cover boy for Madden NFL 18 and he took to Facebook to let everyone know how he feels about the “Madden Curse”.
Sure, it’s all fun and games until he goes down with a season ending injury. It sounds absolutely ridiculous doesn’t it? A Madden curse? Really!?!? How could ending up on the cover of an NFL video game have anything to do with having a poor season or suffering from a crippling season ending injury? Football is a brutal sport and many, if not all, NFL athletes at some time or another in their careers go down with an injury. Likewise, players naturally have bad years. It’s all part of the game, part of their journey in the NFL. Yet there are some inescapable facts are difficult to avoid. The reality is many who have graced the cover of EA Sports beloved NFL game have fallen to either season ending injuries or significant injuries sidelining the player for several weeks.
It all seems comical and the Madden curse started as a joke way back when players started appearing on the cover. Running back Garrison Hearst landed on the cover back in 1999 and shortly after he broke his ankle. He remained sidelined for two seasons. Michael Vick was Madden’s 2004 cover athlete and he ended up breaking his leg in preseason right after the game was released. The following year, 2005 cover athlete Ray Lewis for the Baltimore Ravens had his season cut short when he went down with a wrist injury a few weeks before the playoffs started. The fun didn’t stop there. In 2006, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb tore his ACL the same year he landed on the cover. Let’s fast forward to 2012 when Peyton Hillis landed on the cover. That year he went down with an injury and has never been the same player since. And of course, last year Gronk.
What are your thoughts on the Madden curse? Should Pats fans be concerned?