The Madden Curse

Although Shaun Alexander made a triumphant return from injury on Monday night, his performance was also a not-subtle reminder of the Madden cover curse. You see, Alexander set an NFL record for touchdowns last season, powering his Seattle Seahawks to the NFC Championship. Not surpisingly, Alexander was picked to grace the cover of Madden 07 which considered a greater honor in most frat houses across America than being elected president. However, like so many Madden cover boys before him (see McNabb, Donovan, Lewis, Ray Vick, Michael, Faulk, Marshall, etc., etc., etc.), his season was cut down by injury, the culprit this time being a broken foot in week three.

While 201 yards on 40 carries is nice, you have to imagine that Seahawks fans, whose team stands 7-4, are probably wondering what might have been had their star running back not posed for that darned cover. While Seattle still stands to make the playoffs, they would have a much better chance at a higher seed and home field advantage had their all-world running back not missed nearly half the season.

And just in case you don't believe in curses, the website Pulled My Groin, who supplied the above picture, offers a pretty compelling argument as to the validity of this particular instance of voodoo.