The Madden Curse

Moazzam Brohi_Flickr

Does this look familiar? How many of you have your own superstitious rituals done in the hopes of helping your team score a touchdown? Sports superstitions have been going on for generations, both in the stands and at home. But fans are not the only people who utilize ‘good luck’ rituals. Athletes, too, have their superstitions and rituals. In fact, there are several examples of professional athletes that will do the same thing over and over again right before a game because they believe it will help them win the game.

Michael Jordan, for instance, would wear his University of North Carolina (UNC) shorts under his Chicago Bull’s uniform during every game. He believed they brought him luck, since he was part of the UNC team that led the defeat against Georgetown in the 1982 NCAA championship game.

Serena Williams also believes that much of her success in tennis comes from the routines she meticulously follows before every match. This routine includes bringing her shower sandals to the court, tying her shoelaces a specific way and bouncing the ball five times before her first serve and twice before her second.

Patrick Roy, known as the greatest goaltender in the history of the NHL, has several rituals he considered vital during his games; such as talking to the hockey goal posts and thanking them when the puck was deflected. He was even known to get a bit “touchy-feely” with them.

The most important thing that these three examples have in common is the belief that these athletes believe in these rituals. Belief is a powerful weapon when it comes to motivation; if you believe you can win because you are wearing your favorite lucky shorts than you will. However, I believe that when you don’t give a superstition the power of belief then it will not occur, and you could even break a curse by not believing in it.

What curse am I talking about? The “Madden Curse”. Since 1999, people have given this superstition the power to occur, but I believe this is the year it will be broken. The superstition claims that anyone who is on the cover of the EA Sports’ Madden NFL football video game will either become injured or have a horrible football season that year. When an athlete is chosen to be on the cover of Madden NFL, they are considered to be at the pinnacle of their careers. Some people feel it is an honor to be chosen while others look at it as a curse.

When you review the history of the curse, 14 out of the 16 players had bad years or were severely injured after being on the cover of the popular video game. However, this time, the curse does not know who it is messing with; Richard Sherman will break the Madden curse, like Hulk, annihilates his enemies.

When Richard Sherman was announced to be on the “Madden 15” video game cover on June 6, 2014; not once did he hesitate to state in front of everyone,

“I don’t believe in curses, I believe in God.”

Sherman and the Seattle Seahawks have proven themselves capable of  beating the odds on several occasions. Why would this scenario be any different? Perhaps it is like Pete Carroll stated, “To accomplish the grand, you have to focus on the small. To exist in the eternal perspective, you have to live in the moment.”

I believe that The 12th Man will accomplish something grand by standing up tall and chanting for all to hear “Bring on the boom Madden Curse because Richard Sherman is here…” He is ready to go head-to-head with this curse and dominate the 2014 NFL Season with his power-house teammates by his side.

Araceli Mendoza is a Writer for Couch Rider Report. Follow her on Twitter and Couch Rider Facebook