http://youtube.com/watch?v=
AXj3h-XIUPs[/youtube]
Well now the Madden guys have really started screwing with my head.
This video is pretty cool in that announcers Chris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond pretty much gush about Ben Roethlisberger for a good 3 minutes. But then, you gotta remember that the reason they’re endlessly complimenting certain players is because they’re looking for a coverboy for the latest Madden 2010 video game. Oh jeez…
Unless you’ve lived in a cave (or next door to one, at least), you know all about the supposed Madden Curse. Everyone who has been featured on the game’s cover since they took Madden’s fat face off of it has been plagued with some sort of on or off field predicament. From the late 80s through 1998, Madden was the only one on the cover. Then, 1999 brought Garrison Hearst to the front of the game, and each successive cover athlete has been haunted by injuries or poor play after appearing on the game.
Ben Roethlisberger would seem to be in a different category, though. As a premier quarterback coming off his second Super Bowl win, there’s no reason to expect a drop in performance. But still, that injury threat is very real with a guy like Ben. Plus, Ben’s worst season as a pro came directly after the Super Bowl XL win, when he went through a life-altering motorcycle crash, appendectomy and several concussions.
Last year’s coverboy, Brett Favre, led the league in interceptions. That’s a scary idea when it comes to Ben as a possible Madden cover athlete.
Now don’t get me wrong, I believe that Ben deserves all the praise and adulation in the world…just not on the Madden cover, though. Maybe NFL Blitz needs Ben like they needed Kordell Stewart back in the day.
