Cover jinx? Not in NASCAR, where it's about 'next year'
By NASCAR.COM
March 22, 2007
11:54 AM EDT
March 22, 2007
11:54 AM EDT
type size: + -
Two sports in which the competitors risk life and limb each time on the field of play. ... Two games in which the cover athletes have gone in opposite directions.
Everyone is familiar with the perceived "Madden Curse," the almost certain misfortune that is to come the way of the John Madden cover boy in the NFL:
Madden Curse
| Game | Cover | That season ... |
|---|---|---|
| Madden 2007 | Shaun Alexander | Missed six regular-season games with a broken foot and finished the season with 896 yards rushing and only seven touchdowns. |
| Madden 2006 | Donovan McNabb | After Week 9, suffered a season-ending hernia. The Eagles finished 6-10 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1999. |
| Madden 2005 | Ray Lewis | Avoided the curse for the most part, but missed one game and did not have an interception for the first time in his career. |
| Madden 2004 | Michael Vick | Missed the first 11 games with a broken leg. His QB rating, completion percentage and yards per attempt were down from 2002. |
| Madden 2003 | Marshall Faulk | Rushed for 430 less yards and had four less TDs compared to the year before. |
| Madden 2002 | Daunte Culpepper | Missed four games with injury, threw for 1,300 less yards and 19 less TDs than the previous season. |
| Madden 2001 | Eddie George | Failed to break 1,000 yards for the first time in six seasons and Tennessee missed the playoffs going 7-9. |
Note: Madden 2001 was the first time a player's picture was on cover.
But for ever action there is an equal and opposite reaction, according to Newton's third law. NASCAR spokesman Scott Warfield unearthed what many may not know: the successes enjoyed by NASCAR drivers the year after they have appeared on the cover of EA Sports' games:
Reverse the Curse
| Game | Cover | The next year ... |
|---|---|---|
| NASCAR 98 | Jeff Gordon | Sixth in 1999 |
| NASCAR 99 | Dale Earnhardt | Second in 2000 |
| NASCAR 2000 | Dale Earnhardt | -- |
| NASCAR 2001 | Tony Stewart | Champion in 2002 |
| NASCAR Thunder 2002 | Jeff Gordon | Fourth in 2003 |
| NASCAR Thunder 2003 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Fifth in 2004 |
| NASCAR Thunder 2004 | Tony Stewart | Champion in 2005 |
| NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup | Kevin Harvick | Fourth in 2006 |
| NASCAR 06: Total Team Control | Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon | TBD |
| NASCAR 07 | Elliott Sadler | TBD |
Note: NASCAR Thunder 2003 was the first time a driver's picture was on cover.
Only once -- Jeff Gordon in 1998 -- has a driver who completed the season after his cover appearance not failed to finish in the top five in the Cup Series point standings. Gordon finished sixth in 1999.
Dale Earnhardt was on the cover of the NASCAR 2000 game. He died on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.
Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Elliott Sadler are under the gun in 2007; they appeared on two games last year -- Johnson and Gordon on NASCAR 06: Total Team Control; Sadler on NASCAR 07. Entering Bristol, all three are making tracks toward a berth in the Chase.
This year's game -- NASCAR 08 -- features two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart. Ironically, he won both titles the year after he was on the EA game's cover.
Check back after Homestead in November 2008 to see if the streak continues ...
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