EA Confirms Madden 09 Cover Athlete

Madden 09 cover

EA has announced that former Green Bay Packers quarterback, Brett Favre, will grace the cover of the next installment of the Madden NFL franchise.

Colourfully entitled Madden NFL 09, the game marks the twentieth anniversary for the series. I presume EA were thinking that seeing as everyone is celebrating Favre’s career at the moment, they may as well try and crash the party and have the fans celebrate twenty years of Madden as well. Or maybe it’s just because Madden it getting on in years and Favre is too… sorry, Brett.

Much has been made about the so-called “Madden Curse” in which the athlete that appears on the cover for a given year will invariably suffer a season ending injury, or just perform well beyond their expected level.

Recently Shaun Alexander and Donovan McNabb are prime examples of this phenomenon, with Vince Young (Madden’s 08 cover player) also not having the year many expected of him last season. I like Vince Young though so I’m not going to say too much about that. McNabb and Alexander though… yeah they do kinda suck nowadays.

With Favre’s retirement at the end of last season, the “curse” will probably not be a problem for him. I say probably because many pro sportsman seem to have a different interpretation from the rest of us as to the meaning of the word “retirement”.

To go along with this announcement EA has also released a trailer, of sorts, for Madden 09. The video features a nostalgic look at the past twenty years of the series, focusing on Brett Favre and his different incarnations within the game, ending with a few tantalising glimpses of Madden 09 itself during a snowy game at the home of the Green Bay Packers, Lambeau Field.

Personally, I’m a huge fan of the future Hall of Famer, and I’m happy that he’s going to be on the cover of the game before he ceases to be anything more than a fond memory.

Madden NFL 09 is set for an August 12th release for pretty much every system known to man, aside from the PC.

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  • Kay

    this will be cool can’t wait to play this game

  • John Robertson

    I’m with you Kay, i love Madden and this game looks awesome! I’m hoping Madden Head Coach will be released in the UK too or i’m gonna be very disapointed.

  • Gunny Highway

    After the last Madden, I will never buy another Madden game. I just don’t think they are innovating as much as they used to.

    I traded the last Madden back in about 1 week after buying it, I thought the gameplay was just horrible, and he sidelines had about 3 animations, it made the players look like they were part of a Chorus Line. Made me want to puke.

    Sorry, no Madden this year for this gamer.

  • Wade Larson

    I’m with gunny on this one. They’re not even trying anymore. They don’t change anything except the rosters with each year. I’ll just let my friends buy it. there are too many GOOD games to buy this year.

    Although, I do like the choice of Favre for cover athlete. Gotta respect #4.

  • John Robertson

    even if it turns out to be excatly like the previous games i gotta get it. there’s no other way to get a football fix anymore, what with all-pro football getting axed. this is gonna have online leagues too which is summin i (and many others) have wanted for a long time. i agree the series is hardly innovative anymore though.

    as i’m in the uk i don’t have access to the ncaa games so this really is my only choice. unless i want nfl tour or blitz, but that’s not really the same.

  • reece

    madden will be amazing cant wait! when is it released in the uk?

  • John Robertson

    look for it August 15th, but that is liable to change of course

  • b dub

    the offical release date in the united states is on august 12th. as for the uk, you got me stumped

  • John Robertson

    due for uk release august 15th

  • FRANK#4 LOVER

    dude i cant wait for madden 09 to come out and i think that they make the game play better and the graphics better every year i cant wait to play it

    also i think ill but the case on display brett favre is the best pro football player of all time and i lover the cover already
    ps i hope we get the game sooner i cant wait

  • Cursed

    Consider the CURSE ALIVE AND WELL. Favre is a cursed as you can get right now… Here’s the long list of curse evidence…
    Madden 1999 – Garrison Hearst in a playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons, Hearst would go down with a knee injury and wouldn’t play again until the 2001 season.
    Madden 2000 – A week before training camp opened for the season, Barry Sanders retired leaving the Detroit Lions with no effective running game.
    Madden 2001 – Eddie George averaged 3 yards a carry (a career low) and only ran for just over 900 yards rushing while battling a nagging toe injury.
    Madden 2002 – After appearing on the cover Culpepper went on to throw just 13 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions before having his season ended in week 11 because of injury.
    Madden 2003 – After appearing on the cover Marshall Faulk missed five regular season games due to an ankle injury.
    Madden 2004 – Five days after the cover was released, Michael Vick fractured his right fibula.
    Madden 2005 – Ray Lewis would have no interceptions after having made six the previous season. He would also be injured during week 15 of that season and be forced to miss the last game of the year.
    Madden 2006 – Donovan McNabb would battle a sports hernia the entire season only to get knocked out of the game against the Dallas Cowboys and have season ending surgery.
    Madden 2007 – Shaun Alexander would miss six starts due to a fractured foot. He would go on to fail rushing for 1,000 yards in season for the first time since 2000.
    Madden 2008 – Vince Young’s would go on to throw for less than 2,500 yards with 17 interceptions. Young would go on to be hurt and miss his first NFL game because of an injury. Up until that point, Young had never missed a game due to injury during his NFL, college, or high school seasons.

    Superstitions have been around for a long time in sports, but the Madden Curse is a pretty good one with a long and lengthy history.