I think it is because they are being targeted but not by other teams. Fans are looking to see if they are going to go down due to being on the cover. If Troy wasn't on the cover we just pass his injury off as being part of a physical game.
When a player is on the cover and ever since the "madden curse" came out everyone has their eyes on the cover boys to see if they are going to get hurt or not.
Just because we're watching doesn't cause injuries or poor production.
It makes it more noticeable that
every time somebody is on the cover they end up injured or having a bad year.
Does that make it a curse? Maybe so, I mean if it's happening to every player that is on the cover then what other explanation do you have?
Nobody is saying that only madden cover guys are getting injured, of course there are hundreds of injuries per season. By you saying
If Troy wasn't on the cover we just pass his injury off as being part of a physical game
that doesn't mean shit. The context is guys on the cover. I'm not one to believe in curses myself, but if every madden cover boy ends up having a significant problem the season they appear on the cover then there is something going on. I think teams are playing these guys tougher, and in some cases are being
head hunted, because other teams don't want to let that player beat them. I don't think anybody is saying "Oh shit we're playing the madden cover boy, we have to target him." I think every team has a few guys that are highlighted as the guy you don't want to let beat you.
So let me rephrase my question. Do you think these madden cover player are more likely to be injured or have a significant drop in production because teams are more likely to highlight and shut that player down? In other words, don't you think the madden cover automatically makes a player the go-to guy that other teams have to watch/target? I think it makes it more likely that teams pay extra special attention to madden cover boys thus creating a madden curse maybe.