In the year 1988 the most important invention wasn’t the digital cell phone or the creation of contact lenses. It was the start of the greatest sports video game of all time, Madden.John Madden, a Super Bowl winning coach with the Oakland Raiders and acclaimed sports broadcaster, stood individually on the cover of the video game for 10 years before San Francisco 49ers running back Garrison Hearst graced the cover in 1999.

He accumulated 1,570 rushing yards in the 1998 season, which was the most of his career. However, he suffered an ankle injury in the divisional round of the playoffs that left him sidelined for not one but two seasons.

Football fans didn’t think anything of it until the next four years all featured Madden cover athletes who suffered injuries that either ended their seasons or caused retirement. This included hall of fame running backs Marshall Faulk and Barry Sanders.

Even arguably one of the most dominant Madden athletes of all time, Michael Vick, who seemed invincible due to his elusiveness, could not “juke” the curse. Before the regular season even began, Vick fractured his ankle in a preseason game.

The curse even took its powers off the field for the 25th anniversary when it limited Adrian Peterson to one game due to a child abuse case and a suspension by the NFL.

Wide receivers have seemed to represent something like kryptonite to the curse. In 2012 Calvin Johnson dominated the opposition by racking up the most receiving yards in in NFL history for a single season. Also, in just his second NFL season, Odell Beckham Jr. made the Pro Bowl and had the second-most receiving touchdowns in the league.

Patriots quarterback and face of the league Tom Brady is featured on the most recent version that came out this fall. So far Tom Brady is on course to stand with the minority who conquered the curse.  Through seven weeks, the Patriots are 5-2 and Brady has passed for the most yards in the league. With Halloween approaching and evil in the air, will Brady be invincible?

Photo via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons license.