FROM THE GREAT WHITE NORTH: MOVE OVER SI, A NEW CURSE IS IN TOWN

by E. Spencer Kyte, Bugs and Cranks

Generations past believed in the Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx and with good reason. For a time in it's heyday, SI derailed the hopes and dreams of many and placed a hex on countless talented athletes.

In 1982, the undefeated Washington Redskins dropped a game to the Dallas Cowboys following an SI cover appearance. A week after Howard Cosell graced the cover, he made his infamous "Little Monkey" call in reference to Alvin Garrett and Steffi Graff suffered her first loss of the 1989 tennis season after being on the cover.

The '90 yielded some similar disastrous results: Todd Marijuana-vich and the USC Trojans graced the cover before falling out of Rose Bowl contention early on in 1990 and Matt Williams broke his foot shortly after appearing on the cover in 1995, cutting short an outstanding campaign that saw him leading the National League in the Triple Crown categories at the time. Oh yeah, they had Ryan Leaf on the cover once too. Yes, I'm blaming SI for Ryan Leaf...

But times change and just as Sports Illustrated has lost it's stranglehold on being the quintessential sports magazine, so too has the Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx lost it's place as the most feared curse in the sportsworld.

That title now belongs to EA Sports.

The Madden series of cover athletes have suffered the most, but the curse extends to the other EA Sports franchises as well, with NHL coverboys and NBA Live athletes feeling the effects of the cover curse as well.

Major League Baseball should be glad that EA no longer has the option of putting out MVP Baseball with big league talent, as somehow that seems to be the only one of the four major franchises that has escaped any real jinx.

But where the MVP series was lacking, Madden more than picks up the slack. Dating back to 1999, no fewer than six cover athletes have had horrific seasons during or following their appearance on the cover of the greatest sports game franchise ever.

Don't believe me? Since 1999, Madden cover athletes played in 39 combined Pro Bowls prior to gracing the cover. Post-Madden? FOUR...

2000 - Barry Sanders was on the cover. Barry Sanders retired just before the season started.
2001 - Eddie George has his worst statistical season to date
2003 - Marshall Faulk misses five games
2004- Mike Vick breaks his fibula in the pre-season and only plays five games
2006 - Donovan McNabb... Sports Hernia, 6-10 Eagles
2007 - Shaun Alexander isn't anything close to an MVP...

2004 was probably the worst year overall for the entire EA Sports lineup. In addition to Vick's pre-season injury, NBA Live featured Vince Carter during his "I Want Out of Toronto So I'm Not Going To Try" phase. But nothing tops NHL 04 in terms of cover curses.

Originally slated for the cover was then Boston Bruins captain Joe Thornton, but an off-season assault charge made EA reconsider and they chose up and coming Atlanta Thrashers sniper Dany Heatley.

Just before the season began, Heatley and teammate Dan Snyder were in a horrific single car accident in Atlanta which led to Snyder's death and Heatley missing nearly the entire season. While EA scurried to regroup and eventually re-issued NHL 04 with Joe Sakic on the cover, numerous copies of the Dany Heatley version made it to shelves and furthered the belief of the EA Curse.

And now Agent Zero has been stuck down. Two weeks into the NBA season - BAM! - knee surgery, out for three months. Tell me the cover had nothing to do with it...

Three months of no "HIBACHI!" Three months of no last second three pointers. Three months of no tossing his game jersey into the stands. Three months of boring blogs about rehab and not games and life on the road.

Thanks a lot EA Sports.

Suggestions for the 2009 Covers
Madden: Tavaris Jackson - he's going to hurt himself anyways...
NHL 09: Kari Lehtonen - he's sure to pull a hammy or a groin at some point
NBA Live: Greg Oden - because they had to have something to do with his injury this year, no?