Do you believe in the John Madden Curse???

Well, You Should!!!

In the NFL, a single player has been featured on the front Cover of John Maddens Football (Video Game) since 2001. Ever since, there has been a curse on that player the following year in the NFL.

Lets look at the facts (Taken from a source that was taken from another source that was taken from the horses mouth). Here we go...

Eddie George - 2000 (Season) 2001 (Madden Year)

(Stats) 403 Rush, 1509 Yds, 14 TD (Team Record) 13-3 1st Place (Player's Curse) George's curse came in 2001 where he failed to break 1000 yards and Tennessee missed the playoffs going 7-9.

Daunte Culpepper - 2001 (Season) 2002 (Madden Year)

(Stats) 2612 Yds, 14 TD, 13 Int (Team Record) 5-11 4th Place (Player's Curse) Culpepper missed 4 games with injury, threw for 1300 less yards and 19 less TD's then in 2000. Minnesota's worst record since 1984. 2002 Daunte Culpepper 2001 2612 Yds, 14 TD, 13 Int 5-11 4th Place Culpepper missed 4 games with injury,

Marshall Faulk - 2002 (Season) 2003 (Madden Year)

(Stats) 212 Rush, 953 Yds, 8 TD (Team Record) 7-9 3rd Place Despite playing the same amount of games, (Player's Curse) Faulk rushed for 430 less yards and had 4 less TDs compared to 2001. Faulk's worst season since 1996. Rams scored only 16 more points then their 1996 team who had Tony Banks at QB and Lawrence Phillips at RB.

Michael Vick - 2003 (Season) 2004 (Madden Year)

(Stats) 585 Yards, 4 TD, 3 INT (Team Record) 5-11 4th Place (Player's Curse) Vick missed the first 11 games with a broken leg. Vick's QB rating, comp pct, and yards per attempt were all down from 2002.

Ray Lewis - 2004 (Season) 2005 (Madden Year)

(Stats) 147 Tak, 1 Sack (Team Record) 9-7 2nd Place (Player's Curse) Ray Lewis for the most part avoided the curse. His numbers were slightly down from the year before, but he missed one game. He did not record an interception in 2004, the first time in his career. 2

Donovan Mcnabb - 2005 (Season) 2006 (Madden Year)

(Stats) 2507 Yards, 16 TD, 9 INT (Team Record) 6-10 4th place After week 9, (Player's Curse) Mcnabb suffered a hernia and was lost for the season. Mcnabb threw for more interceptions and his yards per attempt and completion percentage were down from 2004. The Eagles finished 6-10, in last place, and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1999.0 4th place After week 9, Mcnabb suffered a hernia and was lost for the season. Mcnabb threw for more interceptions and his yards per attempt a

And now, this brings us to the Curse that hits closest to my heart (And FF Team this year)

Shaun Alexander - 2006 (Season) 2007 (Madden Year)

(Stats) 187 Yards, 2 TD, 2.9 YPC (Team Record) 3-0 First Place (Player's Curse) Shaun Alexander was the 2005 MVP, racking up 1880 rushing yards, 5.1 YPC, and 27 touchdowns. After week 3, Alexander has been diagnosed with a broken left foot. He is expected to miss a couple of weeks (He has never missed a game before in his NFL career).

Now a couple of weeks is a couple of weeks... It is not the worse curse of them all, but I need him in there every week!!! Shaun, I wish you well and a safe and speady return!

Note: Before 2001, John Madden Football did not have NFL players on its cover. It just had a picture of John Madden himself. (Thanks for the Info Fantom 1997).