Claiming another victim is the Madden Curse. The two players, Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald, appeared on the cover for the 2010 game. Ironically, during the season opener between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tennessee Titans, Troy Polamalu, who plays safety for the Steelers, suffered a somewhat serious injury to his knee. This is an injury that could last for anywhere from three to six weeks.
The following is a list of players who were put on the Madden covers and the injuries that they suffered in that year.
1999: Garrison Hearst – Broken ankle, missed 2 seasons.
2000: Barry Sanders – Retired before training camp.
2001: Eddie George. No injury.
2002: Daunte Culpepper – Missed five games, played poorly.
2003: Marshall Faulk – Missed six games. Never ran for 1,000 yards again.
2004: Michael Vick – Broke his leg, missed 11 games.
2005: Ray Lewis – Missed only one game.
2006: Donovan McNabb – Missed last seven games of the season.
2007: Shaun Alexander – Broke his foot, missed six games.
2008: Vince Young – Missed one game. But things didn’t go well.
2009: Brett Favre – Missed no games. But did become insufferable. [Ha!]
2010: Troy Polamalu. Out 3-6 weeks with a knee injury.
2010: Larry Fitzgerald: TBD.
Larry Fitzgerald has not yet had his season opener yet. Hopefully he can be one of the lucky ones and he will get out of the year without an injury, but many people will be watching and anticipating it to happen.
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