Well, Aaron Rodgers will not grace the cover of the Madden ’13 video game. But more important, the Green Bay Packers quarterback believes he may have avoided the curse that sometimes comes with it.
On his Twitter account Wednesday morning, the reigning NFL MVP tweeted: "Thanks to all our packer fans that voted for and against me in the madden voting! Happy Wednesday! #CurseAvoided"
That hardly sounds like disappointment from Rodgers, who lost in the semifinals of the tournament to decide which player will be on the cover of the popular video game series this year. Rodgers lost to Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson by a substantial margin, with Johnson collecting 67 percent of fans' votes.
The Madden Curse, though it has taken a year off from time to time, has hampered — coincidentally or not — the careers of several of the game’s cover players. In 2011, Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis won the cover contest in an upset and was rewarded by having an absolutely horrible season. Hillis is now with the Kansas City Chiefs after signing a relatively small one-year contract this offseason.
The curse did not catch up with Drew Brees the year prior, but Troy Polamalu had one of his worst seasons after being on the Madden '10 cover. Vince Young went from promising young quarterback to afterthought after the season that followed his Madden '08 cover appearance. In 2007, Shaun Alexander's Madden cover shot took him from NFL MVP to out of the league in only two years.
Perhaps that's why Rodgers' teammate, Tom Crabtree, was telling Packers fans to vote for the Lions' superstar wide receiver to make sure Rodgers would lose.
"Make sure you guys get out and vote for Calvin Johnson for the Madden 13 cover!" Crabtree posted on Twitter. "Good luck buddy. #hehehe"
It is now between Johnson and Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in the finals of the Madden cover voting to determine which player will be cursed . . . er . . . on the cover of this year's game. Results will be announced April 25.
