Patrick Hruby wrote:

Monday, August 11, 2003
Covering the blues

By Patrick Hruby
Special to ESPN Gamer

Mike Vick is in trouble. Big trouble.


Sure, the Atlanta quarterback has the arm, the speed and the can't-coach-that mojo of a future Hall of Famer. And granted, his Falcons look like a much-improved club.

Problem is, Vick also serves as the coverboy for this year's edition of Madden football. And as far as bad omens go, that's somewhere between crossing a black cat and finding a severed horse's head nestled in your bed.
Will Michael Vick suffer from the cover jinx?

Never mind Sports Illustrated. For the most insidious cover jinx in sports, look no farther than EA Sports' blockbuster football franchise.

In the three years that the game has featured an actual NFL player on its cover -- as opposed to Big John himself, and maybe some generic football art -- the Madden cover has ensured two things.

1) A hefty endorsement check.
2) Near-total football ruin.

But don't take our word for it. Ask Tennessee running back Eddie George. Three years ago, his Titans were coming off a near-miss in the Super Bowl and favored to make a return trip.

After George appeared on the cover of Madden 2001, however, Tennessee was upset in the AFC playoffs at home by the Baltimore Ravens.

Hampered by injuries -- and perhaps shaken by a concussive hit from Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis -- George suffered his worst-ever professional season last year, rushing for just 939 yards and averaging just three yards per carry.

For Madden 2002, it was Minnesota quarterback Daunte Culpepper's turn to feel the hurt. Following a Pro Bowl campaign in 2001 that saw Culpepper throw for 33 touchdowns and nearly 4,000 yards while leading the Vikings to the NFC title game, the signal-caller signed on for Madden.

The Vikings promptly dropped to 5-11, while Culpepper struggled his way to a season-ending knee injury. Last season, the quarterback was still in throes of a post-Madden stupor, tossing 23 interceptions and posting a 75.3 quarterback rating.

Likewise, St. Louis running back and Madden 2003 coverboy Marshall Faulk entered last season as the featured weapon on a Rams squad expected to atone for a Super Bowl upset loss to the New England Patriots. Instead, the Rams finished 7-9 -- and Faulk rushed for less than 1,000 yards in an injury-riddled season.

The upshot? Vick should have thought twice before drinking the Madden Kool-Aid. In fact, athletes in every sport would do well to avoid video game cover endorsements. Because Madden, quite frankly, is far from alone when it comes to auguring the worst:

NBA 2K2
Coverboy: Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson.

Pre-Cover: Behind the diminutive Iverson's MVP season, Sixers advanced to the NBA Finals and even stole a game from the then-mighty Los Angeles Lakers.

Post-Cover: Arrested on 14 felony and misdemeanor charges, including assault, terroristic threats and weapons offenses. The charges were later thrown out of court, but not before Iverson became the focal point of a three-ring media circus. Oh, and the Sixers were overtaken by the New Jersey Nets in the Eastern Conference.

NFL 2K2
Coverboy: Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss

Pre-Cover: Set an NFL record with 5,396 yards receiving in his first four pro seasons; scored more touchdowns since his 1998 debut than anyone except St. Louis' Faulk; signed an eight-year, $75 million contract.

Post-Cover: Arrested and spent a night in jail for allegedly pushing a female traffic officer a half-block with his car (police also found a small amount of marijuana in the vehicle); scored just seven touchdowns and averaged 12.7 yards per catch last season, the lowest numbers of his pro career.

NFL 2K3
Coverboy: Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher

Pre-Cover: In 2000, named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year; in 2001, made the Pro Bowl and anchored a Bears team that finished 13-3 while leading the league in fewest points allowed.

Post-Cover: Urlacher continued to dominate, but injury-riddled Bears slid to 4-12 and ranked 25th in points allowed.

NFL Gameday '97
Coverboy: Dallas Cowboys fullback Darryl "Moose" Johnston. (Um, why not Jay Novacek?)

Pre-Cover: With Johnston's hard-nosed blocking and clutch backfield receiving leading the way -- well, that and the big three of Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith -- the Cowboys captured a Super Bowl under renegade coach Barry Switzer, nearly proving that Jerry Jones really can do it all by himself.

Post-Cover: Staggered by Irvin's legal woes and the "white house" scandal, the 'Boys lost to the upstart Carolina Panthers in the playoffs. The Dallas dynasty never recovered.

NFL Gameday 2000
Coverboy: Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis

Pre-Cover: Gave John Elway what he always needed -- a running game. Davis, the 1998 MVP, amassed 36 touchdowns and nearly 4,000 yards rushing over two seasons as the Broncos won back-to-back Super Bowls.

Post-Cover: Elway retired; Davis blew out his knee and missed 12 games; the Broncos finished 6-10, last in the AFC West. The injury-prone Davis never again rushed for only 1,200 yards the next three seasons.

ESPN NFL Prime Time 2002
Coverboy: Indianapolis running back Edgerrin James

Pre-Cover: Won his second straight NFL rushing title and broke Eric Dickerson's franchise record by running for 1,709 yards; Colts went 10-6 before losing in the AFC Wild Card Game.

Post-Cover: Suffered a season-ending knee injury six games into the 2001 season; Colts finished 6-10. A tentative-looking James returned for 14 games last year, rushing for 989 yards.

ESPN NBA 2Night (2000)
Coverboy: Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning

Pre-Cover: Established himself as the second-best center in the NBA -- behind Shaquille O'Neal -- and won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards. Won a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics.

Post-Cover: Diagnosed with a kidney disorder and missed 69 games in 2000-2001; has played sparingly since.

NCAA Football '98
Coverboy: Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel

Pre-Cover: Won Heisman Trophy after throwing for 3,625 yards and 39 touchdowns and leading the Gators to the national title. Drafted in the fourth round by the New Orleans Saints.

Post-Cover: Started six games in three seasons with the Saints, tossing 16 interceptions and nine touchdowns; spent two years on the bench in Green Bay and Chicago; joined college coach Steve Spurrier in Washington last season, where he threw six picks in four starts and wasn't allowed to wear his No. 7 (a number that once belonged to 'Skins great Joe Theismann).

NCAA Football 2000
Coverboy: Texas running back Ricky Williams

Pre-Cover: Finished his Longhorn career as the owner of 20 NCAA rushing records, including most rushing yards (6,279), rushing touchdowns (72) and highest average per carry (6.2). New Orleans coach Mike Ditka traded away his entire draft to land Williams in the first round.

Post-Cover: Wore a wedding dress for an ill-advised ESPN magazine cover shoot; signed foolhardy, incentive-laden rookie contract on advice of agent Leland Hardy; suffered social anxiety disorder and a series of injuries over his first two seasons, missing 10 games while averaging less than 4.0 yards a carry.

NCAA Football 2002
Coverboy: Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke

Pre-Cover: College football feel-good story abandoned a minor-league baseball career to become the Seminoles' all-time leading passer, winning the Heisman Trophy and a national championship en route.

Post-Cover: Second-oldest player to be drafted by an NFL team since 1970 posted a 62.0 quarterback rating in his rookie year with the Carolina Panthers; last season, played in six games and only started one, throwing three interceptions. Now buried behind former Saints backup Jake Delhomme on the Panthers depth chart.


NBA Inside Drive 2002
Coverboy: Toronto Raptors guard Vince Carter

Pre-Cover: After winning Rookie of the Year in 1998-99, Carter won Olympic gold the next summer, posterizing Frederic Weis along the way. In 2000-2001, Carter was named All-NBA Second Team and led the Raptors to within a buzzer-beating miss of the conference finals.

Post-Cover: Has seen his toughness and desire questioned after injuries forced him to miss much of the last two seasons for an underachieving Raptors squad.

NBA Courtside 2002
Coverboy: Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant

Pre-Cover: Former high school superstar became arguably the NBA's best all-around player, helping the Lakers win three straight titles. Made millions endorsing Sprite, McDonald's and, um, Nutella spread.

Post-Cover: Do you really have to ask?

FIFA Major League Soccer 2001
Coverboy: D.C. United forward Ben Olsen

Pre-Cover: Won MLS Rookie of the Year award in 1998 and MLS Cup MVP honors in 1999.

Post-Cover: Missed entire 2001 season after fracturing his ankle while on loan to English First Division club Nottingham Forest; United, a one-time MLS dynasty, has stunk ever since.

NCAA College Basketball 2K3
Coverboy: Duke point guard Jay Williams

Pre-Cover: Won NCAA title, then captured National Player of the Year honors the next season; picked No. 2 overall in 2002 NBA draft.

Post-Cover: Struggled through up-and-down rookie season; pro career is in jeopardy following a June motorcycle crash.

NCAA College Football 2K3
Coverboy: Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch

Pre-Cover: Option maestro won Heisman Trophy (sound familiar?) and led overachieving Cornhuskers to national title game, becoming only the third player in NCAA history to amass 3,000 rushing yards and 4,000 passing yards in a career. Also tied an NCAA record by running, throwing for and catching a touchdown in a single game.

Post-Cover: Drafted by St. Louis Rams as a wide receiver, he quit during training camp; returned to the Green Bay Packers this summer to try and earn a backup quarterback spot, then quit again.

NCAA Gamebreaker 2001
Coverboy: Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne

Pre-Cover: Bulled his way to an NCAA regular season-record 6,397 career rushing yards and won the Heisman Trophy. Including bowl games, Dayne is the first college player to top 7,000 rushing yards in a career.

Post-Cover: Overshadowed by Tiki Barber, has rushed for just 1,888 yards and a 3.5 yard-per-carry average in three seasons with the New York Giants.

Smash Court Tennis Pro
Cover players: Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Anna Kournikova, Monica Seles, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Pat Rafter, Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Pre-Cover: A who's who of professional tennis in the 1990s, with dozens of Grand Slams between them. Well, not Anna K. But frankly, who's counting?

Post-Cover: Hingis retired with foot injuries; Sampras lost to someone named George Bastl in the second round at Wimbledon and is practically retired; Rafter fathered a child and is also all-but-retired; Davenport and Seles are nearing retirement after a series of foot injuries; Kafelnikov almost retired after suffering a varicose vein in his leg; Kournikova might retire with bad back. But hey, Andre's still doing great!

NCAA Final Four 2001
Coverboy: Michigan State point guard Mateen Cleaves

Pre-Cover: Gritty guard led Spartans to 2000 NCAA title and was snapped up by Detroit with the No. 14 pick in the 2000 NBA draft; State coach Tom Izzo even named his adopted son Steve "Mateen" Izzo in Cleaves' honor.

Post-Cover: As a rookie, averaged just 16.3 minutes per game; traded to Sacramento, where he's buried behind Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson.

NCAA Final Four 2002
Coverboy: North Carolina guard Joseph Forte

Pre-Cover: Broke Sam Perkins' UNC freshman scoring record; became only the fourth sophomore in Carolina history to earn consensus first-team All-America honors, joining Michael Jordan, Jerry Stackhouse and J.R. Reid.

Post-Cover: Traded from Boston to Seattle and has played in just 25 games over two pro seasons, averaging 1.2 points per game; in May, was issued an arrest warrant after being accused of punching a man in the face during a pickup basketball game; also, the Tar Heels have pretty much fallen into the hoops abyss.

Madden NFL 2000 (for the N64)
Coverboy: A player who looks suspiciously like Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders (pictured shedding a tackle in the upper right-hand corner of the box, next to John Madden's head).

Pre-Cover: Most electrifying runner in the game looked like a lock to eventually break Walter Payton's then-NFL record for career rushing yards -- sooner rather than later.

Post-Cover: Sanders walked away from football before the 1999 season. Give the man credit: He knew how to get out while the getting was good.

NCAA Football 2004
Coverboy: USC quarterback Carson Palmer

Pre-Cover: Won Heisman Trophy; helped restore USC's faded football glory.

Post-Cover: Selected No. 1 in the NFL Draft. By the Cincinnati Bengals.