Madden 13 Cover

This fall, the Madden 13 cover will feature Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson. The Madden NFL series is one of the most popular video games in the world. The iconic series was first conceived in the mid-1980s, when Super Bowl winning coach John Madden was approached about putting his name on the project. Madden insisted that the video game be as realistic as possible. Prior to this, sports video games were very crude simulations. The graphics were comically crude and blocky due to the technological limitations of the time. The gameplay itself was bare bones. No football video game featured 11-on-11 football. Simply looking at an old Atari game makes the contrast clear.

Due to Madden's insistence on realism, the series spent several years in development. The initial installment was released in 1988 for the PC, Apple, and Commodore. This was followed by Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo versions two years later. In 1991, John Madden '92 was released for the Genesis, beginning the tradition of naming the game after next year. Over the next few years, EA added features that are now taken for granted. This included full season mode and NFL and NFLPA licenses that allowed them to use real teams and players.

Madden 2001 made what might be the biggest change of all. John Madden had always appeared on the cover, although there were sometimes real NFL players in the background. Madden 2001 featured Titans running back Eddie George as the centerpiece, with only a small mug shot of John Madden. This began the tradition of choosing a cover athlete each year.

Being the cover athlete is a great honor, but it comes at a price. Over the years, several cover athletes have suffered misfortune. Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, and Shaun Alexander sustained major injuries, as did Garrison Hearst, who appeared in the background when Madden was still the centerpiece. Eddie George, Marshall Faulk, and Daunte Culpepper saw their careers decline after their appearances. This led to the perception of a Madden jinx. EA attempted to dodge this issue in 2009 by featuring retired quarterback Brett Favre, but Favre unretired and tore his bicep while playing for the Jets. The following year, they used two cover athletes, Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald, in an attempt to dilute the curse. This failed as well, with Polamalu suffering two knee injuries.

The decision is now placed in the hands of the general public. Beginning with Madden 2012, a player from each team is chosen and entered into a bracket-style tournament, with fans voting on each matchup. Due to fan superstitions, some of the major stars like the Steelers' Hines Ward were eliminated early by their own fans. The Browns' Peyton Hillis was voted the cover athlete. The effect wasn't as pronounced for the Madden 13 cover. Johnson is a major NFL star.

The Madden 13 cover balloting featured a few quirks due to some of the nominees changing teams. It also featured a little less fan superstition. Aaron Rodgers advanced to the final four, which would be possible only if the large Packers fan base was not afraid to have him on the Madden 13 cover. Steelers fans, on the other hand, did not want to see the Madden 13 cover be a repeat of Madden 10. As a result, Troy Polamalu lost the first round poll by a landslide.