It's part joke and part urban myth, but apparently any American Football star who appears on the cover of one of Electronic Arts' John Madden series of NFL videogames, is bound to suddenly suffer either injury or poor performance. EA are now looking to turn The Madden Curse into a movie.
Produced by EA Entertainment's VP Pat O'Brien, the story will apparently involve a former NFL champion who embarks on a comeback just as he finds himself on the cover of a PS3 box. He'll then need to deal with that pesky jinx. The curse, not Halle Berry's Bond girl character.
It all sounds like an opportunity for some mega product placement some decent comedy allied with some head-crunching NFL action. And if the concept seems rather "high", there's at least plenty of weird evidence to suggest that, if you're an NFL star, maybe videogames are a profile enhancement too far. Michael Vick broke his leg; Dorsey Levens and Dante Culpepper suffered knee injuries; Marshall Faulk hurt his ankle; Ray Lewis tore a hamstring and broke his wrist; Donovan McNabb got a hernia; and Shaun Alexander broke his foot. The list goes on. San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson was offered a cover but turned it down. Sensible.
Pointing out that NFL players are likely to damage themselves regardless of their appearance on the boxes of home entertainment media, is both spurious naysaying and no fun at all. Drew Brees is on the cover of the latest game. He's OK so far...