APJohn Madden visited the Lions’ training camp today and scoffed at the idea that appearing on the video game bearing his name could be a curse for Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson.
“I was on the cover for several years, and I never once even pulled a hamstring,” Madden told the Detroit Free Press.
So why are so many people convinced that having your picture on the Madden video game is a sure way to get injured? Madden thinks it’s silly.
“It’s a violent sport. Injuries are going to happen,” Madden said.
Madden added that if anyone could overcome being cursed — not that he believes in curses — it’s Megatron.
“If there was such a thing [as a curse], you couldn’t ask for a better man to prove that wrong than who we’ve got this year,” Madden said of Johnson. “He might be as close to indestructible as we’ve ever had on the cover. Maybe I shouldn’t say that. . . . I’m not going to talk about that any more.”
Perhaps a great season from Johnson can be the thing to stop Madden from having to talk about the Madden Curse.
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Of course he has to say that, but please look at the record and for Calvin’s sake I hope there is no curse.
If there is no such curse, then tell me why every man that graces the cover ends up hurt or with some type of problem… It’s real, as real as it gets! Mr. Calvin Johnson should invest in some insurance, It could pay off.
Madden is full of BS, he believes in curses, thats why he won’t fly in a plane!
Cant be true:
2011: New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. Had a strong season individually, but the Saints were upset by the Seahawks in the first round of the playoffs and failed to defend their Super Bowl title. Add to that the bounty gate issue that has suspended him the entire 2012 season.
2010: Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu/ Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Polamalu only played five games because on lingering knee injures and the Steelers missed the playoffs a year after winning the Super Bowl. Fitzgerald still hada strong season, collecting over 1,000 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.
2009: Brett Favre. He was traded to the New York Jets after an off-season battle with the Green Bay Packers, following his retirement, then un-retirement. He started strong, but faded down the stretch and the Jets failed to make the playoffs. His final three seasons were inconsistent and he also went through off-the-field issues with his sexting problems.
2008: Tennessee Titans running back Vince Young. He led the Titans to their first playoff appearance in four years, but has fallen out of favor with the franchise since that season. The organization plans to cut or trade Young once the lockout is lifted.
2007: Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander. A fractured foot hobbled Alexander, the reigning MVP, throughout the season and he missed six games. His production declined and he never returned to his MVP-form.
2006: Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. He missed seven games during the season after dealing with a sports hernia. He failed to make the Pro-Bowl for the first time in five seasons and has not been invited since. McNabb also battled with wideout Terrell Owens throughout the season.
2005: Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. A broken wrist caused him to miss one game during the season, and it was also his first year without an interception.
2004: Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. He broke his leg in a pre-season game one day after the game was released and missed 11 games that season. He then had a few off-the-field issues in the years that followed.
2003: St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk. He was hampered by an ankle injury all season, and failed to match his production from previous seasons. His decline started after appearing on the Madden cover and he never rushed for 1,000 yards again.
2002: Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper. Struggled all season, and had his season cut short with knee surgery after 11 games. The Vikings were 4-7 at that point.
2001: Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George. He had a great season, but fumbled at a clutch point in the playoffs, which led to the top-seeded Titans losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the first round.
2000: Detroit running back Barry Sanders. He unexpectedly retired one week before training came by sending a fax to the team.
“I was on the cover for years and didn’t pull a hamstring.”
LOL Gotta love Madden
BIG play CJ may be the best to ever take the field…
I am truly surprised.
Not that I want to see it but…
if Stafford goes down and Johnson’s numbers take a hit, is that technically part of the curse?
John Madden is the man.
“If there was such a thing [as a curse], you couldn’t ask for a better man to prove that wrong than who we’ve got this year,” Madden said of Johnson.
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I guess Larry Fitzgerald just doesn’t exist right?
Believing in curses are for stupid people. There are no curses, karma, or gods. Stop believing in nonsense and join us in 2012.
Yea megatron 1st wr to get 2000 yards in a season
On a somewhat related note, what happens to the Madden franchise when John passes away? Will it still be Madden football, or will it become something else?
Indestructible? My money would be on Favre and he didn’t fare so well.
Talk about your double whammy. If being on the cover wasn’t bad enough, now you have the cover’s namesake calling you indestructible. It’s safe to say that I will not be drafting Mr. Megatron in the first rd. of my ff draft, that I can tell you.
OK, and some people don’t believe in gravity or evolution. That doesn’t make it any less of a scientific fact. And the Madden Curse is a fact, not a fiction.
Oh, it’s real. Write it down.
What matters is that the curse believes in him.
“I was on the cover for several years, and I never once even pulled a hamstring,” Madden told the Detroit Free Press.
So how many games did old John play in the years he was on the cover?
Not hard to avoid the hamstring injury when the hardest thing you do is getting off a bus.
ALL HAIL MEGATRON
it’s as real as the curse of the babe
See you later John, it was nice knowin’ ya.
R.I.P. 2012 – Legend.
If you believe in curses I’m guessing you will vote for Romney…..ha
Remember when we all thought Drew Bress broke the curse? Little did we know that was the season of bounty gate…
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Lol go ask shaun alexander wat happen to his carrer.. Michael vick, ray lewis, mcnabb. Etc…
Well when they were on the cover..
What’s even worse than the Madden curse is the football curse. Everyone who plays profootball at some point in their career will suffer an injury, minor or severe.
How is madden still alive?
I like Madden and all, but the coincidences are more then a bit freaky.
Plus, this coming from the guy who’s had something happen to him in some form at some point that he doesn’t want to fly.
Good Luck Megatron…. I’m just glad my boy McCoy isn’t on the cover
If it were up to him, Brett Favre would be on the cover every year.
This, from the guy that believes in turducken as a main dish for Thanksgiving, that Brett Favre can do no wrong, and the efficiency of coast to coast travel via alternate means to the airplane?
i wish they would put madden and pat summerall back into commentating on the game, pat summeralls voice in football is just iconic!!!
Eddie George- Knicked up all year & never was the same. He then went on to retire shortly after.
Mike Vick- Horrible season, got his coach fired after I believe leading Atlanta to the playoffs the year before, shortly after arrested for dog fighting ring.
Troy Polomolu- Banged up & injured through out the year. Pitt didn’t even make the playoffs the year after winning the superbowl.
Larry Fitzgerald- Broke his collarbone or dislocated his shoulder late in the season vs the 9ERS.
Daunte Culpepper- Blew his knee out & his career was Never the same.
Drew Brees- Year after being on the cover “Bounty Gate”
Peyton Hillis- Injured for majority of year & was basically a no show all season long.
Curse or coincidence?? Not hating…….. Im just saying!!
Fitzgarald didnt get hurt when he shared the cover with that hair ball from pittsburgh… anyway i cant wait till aug 28 when madden 13 is released…. im ready to beat some noobs
great! thanks John. Now I am worried.
Of course he doesn’t believe in the curse. Madden doesn’t know where he is half the time.
I could not read those quotes without hearing John Madden’s voice.
Athletes get on the Madden game cover after having had great years, frequently their best year ever. Is it such a magical thing if they regress back towards the average of their previous years?
Its called regression to the mean. Tall parents have tall kids but not so tall as the parents, usually, and on average.
Now. As for the Lions and Megatron, he’s just coming into his prime as is Stafford. They are on their way up, but what if Megatron has lower numbers this year but they get to the superbowl because they have more of a running game, and Fareley comes through making the protecting of quarterbacks impossible for other teams.
Would it matter one wit if Megatron regerssed to the mean?
Come on John, like you ever ran during that time. The only thing you had to worry about was choking on a turducken bone.
well i hope not. I am a fan of megatron, and think if the lions are going to make any noise this year they need him to be 100%. Lions are on the rise.
As if the Madden curse wasn’t enough….now we’ve got Madden himself jinxing him.
I wish Madden would come back and do Superbowls.
20 bucks says Johnson will get the curse
Too late, John. Not that we needed any help, but thanks!
Uh huh… And “90% of the game is half mental.”
I don’t believe in it either. I believe that to be on the Madden cover, you need a career year. The next year, you will likely regress. You put additional pressure on yourself by being on the Madden cover (you become a target too, because players in the league love Madden).
Most of the people who have been on it were past their prime, already injury prone, or shouldn’t have been on it anyways.
Calvin Johnson will be fine as long as Matthew Stafford can stay healthy…
milehigh85 says:Aug 2, 2012 6:12 PM
Uh huh… And “90% of the game is half mental.”
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That was Yogi Berra, not John Madden.
What kind of idiot believes in curses, especially a football game cover curse?
You need an amazing season to get on the cover. It’s statistically probable you’re going to regress. Even if you play fine people are going to look for any reason they can to justify the existence of a curse because they’re 14 years old and still believe in those kind of things.
He doesn’t believe in dieting or eating healthy either
I believe the curse exists but hope he proves it wrong. Stafford made me fantasy champion thanks to the amazing megatron. Goin with stafford aging this year so need megatron to stay healthy and not succumb to the curse
rodgers419 says:
Aug 2, 2012 8:53 PM
What kind of idiot believes in curses, especially a football game cover curse?
You need an amazing season to get on the cover. It’s statistically probable you’re going to regress. Even if you play fine people are going to look for any reason they can to justify the existence of a curse because they’re 14 years old and still believe in those kind of things.
Except the curse usually isn’t about statistical regression. It’s about the dude getting injured and missing most of the following year.
I don’t believe in Madden Curse or any curse for that matter I think it is silly but it’s fun reading about Madden Curse. Megatron is going to have another great season you can only contain Megatron. All Hail Megatron Go Lions.
I hope Megatron got some kind of weird cosmic energy by being in the same room with Madden and canceled the curse. :p This seriously has me worried as a Lion’s fan.
chazzmon says:Aug 2, 2012 5:21 PM
Of course he has to say that, but please look at the record and for Calvin’s sake I hope there is no curse.
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There are superstitious fans in Chicago and Green Bay who literally spent days voting over and over for Calvin Johnson. Superstitious and fearful.
I’m surprised to learn that ANYONE believes in that ridiculous hokes pokes.