You bet the 'Madden curse' will strike again

by Andrew Yoon { Sep 19th 2009 at 9:30PM }

No seriously, that's what you do on PlayBlackjack.com. For those not in the know, the Madden "curse" has afflicted every athlete featured on the cover of a Madden game. These pros get injured in some way through the course of the season, forcing them to miss a few games. When one of the two Madden 10 athletes, Troy Polamalu, suffered an injury to his left knee, many wondered if Larry Fitzgerald would follow. Well, at least one site is planning on turning that inquisitiveness into a real gambling operation.

To enter the pool, players will have to successfully guess which week Fitzgerald will get injured, with 9:1 odds offered for each possible game. With quite a number of games still left to play, the odds are definitely not in your favor. However, should Fitzergald manage to dodge a bullet, all bets will be called off. "If Fitzgerald does not get struck by the curse and remains healthy all regular season the bets will be graded as no-action and all money bet will be returned to the bettor."

It's certainly a morbid concept to spend money on. We wonder if Madden curse victim Michael Vick is getting in on the action ...

Tags: bet, gambling, larry-fitzgerald, madden, madden-10, madden-curse

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

MechaGamerX @ Sep 19th 2009 9:32PM

Couldn't we get it to work on someone who deserves it, like Kotick?

Peter Moore @ Sep 19th 2009 11:06PM

I think that's a fantastic idea, and it is duly noted.

iofthestorm @ Sep 20th 2009 2:31AM

I would love it if that was actually Peter Moore.

sony boy (6 years til sony man child!) @ Sep 19th 2009 9:33PM

it would be hilarious if the next madden had a like 7 people in the front cover so they can all get hurt in some way...

i'm such a dick...

Hydrophobicfish (PSN: HydrophobicFish) @ Sep 19th 2009 9:37PM

I think I'd like to combine your idea, with the idea of the poster above you... "Couldn't we get it to work on someone who deserves it, like Kotick?"

So, my suggestion is to have seven pictures of Kotick on Madden 11.

tmmoore_nc @ Sep 19th 2009 9:34PM

We definitely need Madden on the cover again. That way, everyone who buys it will be cursed by the smug look of John Madden. Each and every day!

Marius @ Sep 19th 2009 9:35PM

I wish the curse wasnt exclusive to the Madden series but to all sport video games

Sly (Now with less shake, more bake!) @ Sep 19th 2009 9:41PM

why?

johnny @ Sep 19th 2009 9:45PM

he probably dont like sports cause he was into dungeons and dragons in school

Marius @ Sep 19th 2009 9:46PM

because, there are some athletes I dont like

btw
HOOK 'EM HORNS

No Kill Tayler @ Sep 19th 2009 10:04PM

What if there was a college football genre? (if there is, please correct me.)
That'd be interesting

Sly (Now with less shake, more bake!) @ Sep 19th 2009 10:04PM

there is a college football genre. the NCAA games.

-Vexx- @ Sep 19th 2009 10:06PM

Man.

No wonder no one likes you.

No Kill Tayler @ Sep 20th 2009 1:12AM

Ah, i'm going to check that out now.

Sean @ Sep 19th 2009 9:43PM

that would just be hilarious if that ever happened. Im a firm believer in it. I know that its the nfl and people get hurt but to have the madden cover players get hurt in some way the YEAR they are on the cover its a curse. Take this year for example. Polamau missed a game every now before he went on the cover but NOTHING like this injury.

Linkb8s (XBL: Tenku no Link) @ Sep 19th 2009 10:05PM

What about Ray Lewis of the Ravens or Donovan McNabb of the Eagles? Prior to being on the Madden cover neither had injury problems. Ray Lewis missed several games the year he was on the cover and McNabb has been having Injury issues consistently since he made his appearance on the cover.

LegendaryRedass @ Sep 20th 2009 1:41PM

Maybe it has something to do with players on the cover being some of the best in the league. For one, they have a target on their backs, and they play the game harder than the rest. And who hasn't been injured playing pro football?

And Favre was on the cover, but didn't succumb to this so-called curse. He may have wrecked his legacy, but that doesn't count because one; it's not an injury. 2; it was self-inflicted. I guess it does work for people who are reaching for something that is rooted in fantasy.

Curses only work in videogames, not because of them. Maybe if the sox had worried more about their gameplay and less on blaming their suckiness on a curse.....

Linkb8s (XBL: Tenku no Link) @ Sep 20th 2009 3:29PM

@LegendaryRedass

Actually, Brett Favre was injured. He had a shoulder injury but the Jets never mentioned it on their injury reports and still had him play. While he did play however, his numbers suffered from the injury and what looked like a playoff spot for the Jets around mid-season was quickly lost when the Jets fell apart in the second half, partially due to Brett Favre's injury.

The Madden curse though isn't strictly that a play gets hurt, it's A) Player gets hurt, and/or B) Their numbers suffer in comparison to their average.

WINterfang @ Sep 19th 2009 9:51PM

the madden curse is just a coincidence, an urban myth, just like the Sonic Cycle.

J-Link @ Sep 20th 2009 2:53PM

If the new 2d Sonic game sucks then the Sonic Cycle exists.

incendious @ Sep 19th 2009 10:15PM

The curse isn't just about getting injured. Just ask Eddie George.

Ry @ Sep 23rd 2009 4:26PM

Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears got hurt the first game of the season(that was also his last from the injury) and he was on the Spanish version of Madden. :(

Mr Khan @ Sep 19th 2009 10:31PM

Mr. Yoon, the Spelling Gestapo have a warrant for your arraignment. The name you wished to type was Troy Polamalu, not Palamalu

I trust you will comply ;)

Mitsuo @ Sep 19th 2009 11:01PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se8ABHcq8g4

"It's Polamalu do do dooo"

Andrew Yoon @ Sep 20th 2009 2:31AM

Thanks for catching that.

DBuck_Eye @ Sep 19th 2009 10:41PM

I cheer for the Steelers, especially Polamalu, cause he's awesome, and Fitzgerald is on my fantasy team. This cover sucks.

Special Agent Steve @ Sep 19th 2009 11:07PM

Our local NFL team sucks so much balls if one of them were on the cover they'd probably reverse the curse (Jaguars) don't stalk me please

tide3456 @ Sep 20th 2009 2:05AM

Brett Farve was never injured. Yeah there was the whole fiasco with the retirement than trade... And retirement and...... But anyway amend it to "bad things happen" instead of injured.

Because the curse is too smart to injure Fitzgerald when you expect it to happen, so it'll do something else, like he gets a DUI and is suspended for 6 games or something.

Cannon @ Sep 20th 2009 5:51AM

Does having a torn biceps not count as getting injured? Considering the fact that Favre is probably the most durable quarterback of all time, I think that even causing a minor, season ruining injury (the Jets had an 8-3 record in week 12 and lost four of their last five to bring them to 9-7) validates the curse. I mean, the guy has started 270 games in a row (tops among QBs by nearly a hundred), and is going to set the record for consecutive starts by a player in about ten hours.

So I guess my point is, taking the off-season debacle that you mentioned, and combining it with the minor injury and the implosion at the end of the season, I'd say that the Madden Curse hit Brett Favre pretty hard. And he got injured.