Stupid-stision: The Myth of the Madden Curse and Other Curses

(some Stevie Wonder to start the blog - can't beat it)

When you read my blog on a daily basis (because I'm sure you all do), what's your way of reading it? Do you do a lap around the block or eat a couple slices of pineapple beforehand? Do you walk upstairs backwards and then turn your TV to Channel 44? Sounds silly, doesn't it?

It's no different than how people are with sports, but both athletes and fans alike have their own superstitions and routines that they do before they watch their team play or before they play in the big game. I guess I see the reason that athletes do it - as they are the ones playing and sometimes you have to be in the right frame of mind mentally to play at your highest level, screwed up routine be damned.

But for fans? It seems absurd that people would eat the same meal every Sunday an hour before their team kicks off "because otherwise, the team will lose!" Yes - your team will be cursed if you don't eat that three-egged omlette with a side of wheat toast. Two eggs? Might as well wait for victory next week.

I write about curses and superstition on the eve of the new Madden cover for the 2013 version of the video game being announced. This year, fans are able to vote for the cover, with the finalists being Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Willis, Calvin Johnson and Cam Newton, with Newton having the inside edge in my opinion. If Newton gets voted as the cover boy, does that mean he will be "cursed"? To many, it does - as there is a supposed "Madden Curse" that has plagued just about every cover athlete since there's been an athlete on it. I'm here to debunk this myth and help you get your heads out of your asses.

Here's the list of Madden cover athletes (since 2001, when the cover started featuring someone other than the rotund announcer)

2001 - Eddie George; 2002 - Daunte Culpepper; 2003 - Marshall Faulk; 2004 - Michael Vick; 2005 - Ray Lewis; 2006 - Donovan McNabb; 2007 - Shaun Alexander; 2008 - Vince Young; 2009 - Brett Favre; 2010 - Troy Polamalu + Larry Fitzgerald; 2011 - Drew Brees; 2012 - Peyton Hillis


While many of these athletes underperformed in the year that they were the featured guy on the cover, many of them had good reasons. Remember that the year on the cover is what year that season's Super Bowl is played, not the regular season itself.

For the 2000 season - Eddie George actually played well - 403 carries for 1509 yards and 14 touchdowns. Like many running backs (especially some on this list), when you have that many carries, a deterioration is likely to occur in the following years.

In 2001, Daunte Culpepper was entering his second full year as the Vikings starting QB, but saw his numbers dip from 3937 yards, 33 TDs and 16 interceptions to 2612/14/13 as the Vikings limped to a 5-11 record. Culpepper missed the final five games of the year with a knee injury and continued to have crappy years until 2003-2004, when he averaged 4,000 yards, 32 TDs & only 11 picks. Hardly a curse of a career by any means.

2002 was the first year Marshall Faulk didn't register 1000 yards rushing since 1996, but like Eddie George, had plenty of mileage on his legs entering that year (over 2000 carries entering the season). The Rams went from Super Bowl runner-ups to a 7-9 record and missing the playoffs. However, this was NOT because Marshall Faulk was on the cover.

2003 - Michael Vick got hurt in the preseason and didn't return until Week 13. His curse thereafter was self-inflicted in the form of dog fighting. Again, not a product of the Madden curse.

2004 - Ray Lewis was named to his 7th Pro Bowl. He got hurt the next year, but has continued his All-Pro career ever since.

2005 - Donovan McNabb was on pace to easily eclipse his career high in yards before getting injured in November and playing only 9 games (2507 yards), with the Eagles going 4-5 in those starts. He did this in spite of having Terrell Owens as a distraction throughout the year. Some say the Madden curse causes injuries: I say it's 260 pound linebackers doing the job.

2006 - Shaun Alexander: See George and Faulk. Too many miles on the legs to be effective at this point in his career.

2007 - Vince Young. Not sure why he was a cover boy. Probably had a lot to do with his feats the year before while leading Texas to the BCS Championship over USC in thrilling fashion. I'd say this was less of a curse than it was a poor decision to put Young on the cover. Despite his 9 TD to 17 interception ratio, the Titans somehow made the playoffs.

2008 - Brett Favre played his first year outside of Lambeau Field and struggled through injuries as the Jets went 9-7 and missed out on the playoffs in Favre's only year. Playing through injuries was a staple of Favre's career, but it seemed more noticeable this particular year. By this year, many had already began accepting the Madden Curse as fact. I simply say it was Favre being Favre and having one of his several mediocre seasons in the latter half of his career.

2009 - Troy Polamalu got hurt in the season opener, missed a few games, then came back and got hurt again; meanwhile, Fitzgerald played in all 16 games, amassing 97 catches, 1092 yards and a league-high 13 receiving TDs. I'll say the cover was 50% here.

2010 - En route to another Pro Bowl, Drew Brees led the Saints to an 11-5 mark, the year after they won the Super Bowl. It was the 5th year in a row he threw for 4300+ yards, but he did have a career-high 22 picks. As many of you remember, the Saints were upset in the first round by the 7-9 Seahawks, the first team ever to make the playoffs with a losing record.

2011 - I have no clue why Peyton Hillis was even allowed on the cover.  His 2010 season wasn't terrible (1177 yards rushing, 13 total TDs), but I wouldn't say it's the pedigree of a cover boy. Needless to say, to keep everyone who believes in the curse believing, Hillis flamed out, playing in only 10 games while getting half the yards and a third of TDs from the year before.

In my opinion, many of these guys who were deemed "curses" should have never been cover guys in the first place, whether it be because of the decline in skill (for the running backs as noted) or just not talented enough to be cover guys in the first place (Young and Hillis). In a sport as physical as football, injuries are inevitable. Believe in curses all you want, but these guys get hurt just like 100% of football players at some point.

The same curse junk is applied to the Sports Illustrated cover, but when you run a magazine 52 weeks a year, there will be times when you feature a guy who will then lose a big game or a big tournament - it's sports. Do you know who has been featured on the cover of that the most times? Michael Jordan. Heard of him?

Let's not get carried away with curses and superstitions, whether it be in sports or daily life. Your diet or choice of clothing isn't going to change any sports outcome.

Now finish whatever thing it is you do when you read my blog, blink three times and close this browser.

Love/Hate - Football Style & College Picks - Week 2

The NFL offseason brought about some things about teams and players that I love, some on the opposite spectrum.

I love...the fact that the NFC West still appears to be weak as hell. This gives the Niners a fighting chance to win the division.

I hate...that we are giving Alex Smith yet another chance to prove himself. I'm not sure if Harbaugh is a mad scientist or what, but he has been on record as saying he wanted Smith to be back with the team. I'm not saying Kaepernick is the answer, but I'd almost rather throw a rookie out there. It's not like Smith has done anything to earn the starting spot again.

I love...at least for week 1, the disrespect that the Buccaneers are getting. Tampa went 10-6 last year, but missed the playoffs based on losing a tiebreaker to Green Bay. I know that Tampa had a somewhat weak schedule, but they took advantage of it, sweeping Carolina and their 4 NFC West games on their way to a 9-1 record versus sub-.500 team. I know they need to do better against good teams (only win was Week 17 against the Saints, who benched their starters), but I think their core of players will keep them on the right side of .500 this year. Their only loss in that 9-1 stretch, coincidentally, came to the team that is next on my list.

I hate...how much love the Lions are getting from across the spectrum of media. Believe me, this is hard to say with how much money I made on Detroit games last season. I'd like Detroit's chances a lot better if LeShoure didn't get hurt for the year, because he would have been a great compliment to speedster Jahvid Best. Also, their other impact rookie, Nick Fairley, won't be starting Week 1 after having surgery on his foot last month -who knows how long it will take him to have an impact once he does get on the field. And last but not least, Matt Stafford hasn't been healthy for an entire season yet. He's their ultimate key for making the next step and making a playoff run, so I'm waiting to see him play a full season before I can push the Lions forward as a playoff contender.

I love...that Favre is finally out of the NFL. The media (not him) tried bringing his name back into the circles of conversation with rumors of him going to the Eagles as a backup and the Colts when Manning's status to start the season was in doubt. The first rumor, let me say, was about the most laughable rumor in the history of rumors. Does anyone actually believe that Favre would be a willing back-up for someone? The Colts would have been more reasonable, but Favre would have likely been murdered if he decided to go back out there.

I hate...that the Texans are now the favorites in their division and getting some media love. Before Manning's injury was known to be one that could have him missing the season, the Texans were a sleeper division pick. Don't get me wrong - I think the Texans will win the division and deserve to be the favorite at this point. I'm just being a Pouty Pete because I wanted them to be more of underdogs going into the season so that my prediction back in August would look more ballsy.


With those things being said, I am making my first college picks of the year in week 2. Games are Saturday games. Likely making them $44 plays.

Michigan +3 over Notre Dame - I think Michigan is going to thrive behind their home crowd in the first game under the lights at the Big House. I usually end up betting this rivalry game and betting it wrong, so you make want to play Notre Dame for all you can.

Oregon -27 over Nevada - Oregon is not happy after their performance against LSU and will put a hurting on Nevada here.

Tulsa -12 over Tulane - This is complete degenerate action here, but a lot of the good handicappers on Covers (the site I use for gambling research) are loving this line, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

I'll likely have another NFL blog up by Monday, with a possible pick for Monday's game.

Have a good weekend folks, and enjoy opening weekend of the NFL - I know I will.

Monday musings and pick

Random Monday musings:

If Brett Favre plays through this injury, this cements him as a "me-first" athlete. Dude could barely walk and got diagnosed with something fractured in his ankle. I honestly believe Tavarus would be a better option for next week, no joke. We haven't seen him play in a few years, but right now Favre is just gonna hurt his team if she stays out there. I just realized I typed she but don't feel like correcting it.

If Big Ben was black, would Pittsburgh have warmed up so quickly to him following his 4-game suspension following his discretions in a Georgia bar with a female? I'm normally not the first one to bring up race in a situation, but do you think Gilbert Arenas is gonna get a standing ovation when/if he starts playing for the Wizards in the NBA? Granted some of this might be apples and oranges, but you gotta wonder why women were cheering him. I sound like a neo-conservative with these rants here, but just something to think about.

Vegas is the best place on Earth. What other place in the world can you lose a grand, forget about everything that happened and pay for a hotel you never use, all the while enjoying every minute of the above? Only the greatest place in the world. I hope to have a new phone in a few weeks to let you loyal followers of said blog in on a Brian Bolek weekend in Vegas.

San Fran plays Denver over in London next week. I hope the game ends in a tie and Europe tells the NFL that they no longer want to host NFL games. Also, I predict Singletary will be "left behind" and encouraged to suck at coaching a different brand of football and on a different continent.

Pick of the day: Dallas (-3/3.5) over NYG- The desperate team wins here by a couple scores. Dallas 34-23. I hope to get the line at -3 but we'll see. My winning NFL week is once again dependent on my MNF showing, which I have lost the past two weeks. 3-2, $40 yesterday.

Have a good evening my people.