Congrats to Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions for having been voted onto the cover of John Madden's latest edition of his video football game. It seems he beat out Cam Newton in the finals to win the contest. Wait a minute. Cam Newton? How the hell did he ever make it to the finals? Hasn't he only been in the league for one year, and is currently the QB on a "nowhere" team? Hmm. Come to think of it, the Lions haven't won squat since Eisenhower was President, so maybe that's a bad point. Nevermind.
Madden's video game is well known for its supposed "curse". Indeed, strange things have happened to many that were featured on its cover.
Barry Sanders. After being chosen, Sanders never played another game, instead opting to retire. Coincidence? Probably.
Michael Vick. The very next day after his video version hit the market, he suffered a broken leg. I think it would also be safe to say that Mr. Vick's career also took a turn for the worse regarding other matters.
Donovan McNabb. Torn ACL in his first post-video game.
Vince Young. He'd never missed a game from junior high all the way through to the NFL. Enter Madden. Bang. Right quadracep injury, and Young's never seemed to be the same since.
Brett Favre. The all-time record holder for consecutive games played at QB. Here comes Madden. There goes Favre. Torn bicep ligament.
Calvin Johnson says he doesn't believe in curses, and I hope he's right. Yet consider -- every time there's a Friday the 13th, people expect the worst. Most people have seen the movie "Apollo 13", which was a true saga based on a failed moon mission, where the astronauts were lucky to escape with their lives. And guess what version of Madden's video game Calvin is going to be featured on? Yep. The 13th. If there's such a thing as tempting fate -- this might not bode well for the Megatron.
Even if all the above can be written off as coincidence, a couple other things are beyond doubt.
Johnson's in the last year of his contract, and his projected salary is about $22,500,000 for the upcoming season. He's already regarded as a superstar in Detroit, and despite the NFL salary cap reality, fans would be outraged if the Lions let him get away. His agent, one James "Bus" Cook, certainly knows that.
Shortly, when the new video game sells a few bazillion copies, as it likely will, the Megatron will reach an entire new dimension in fame.
Johnson has said he's glad to be on the Madden cover because it will be good for Detroit, the Lions, their fans, and his foundation in Atlanta, which reaches out to help many folks in need. He's also considering expanding his foundation into the Detroit area to do even more charitable work -- and that would be a good thing.
But there's another reality. The Lions' front office had been trying to figure out a way to keep Johnson while still having enough money under the salary cap to pay a lot of other quality players they need to be a Super Bowl quality team. "Franchise tag" or not, they were in a bind. Now, with the Madden game, the Megatron is about to go global.
And somewhere, Bus Cook is likely salivating. There's leverage, and then there's holding all the marbles.
Until all that gets sorted out, Johnson would be well advised not to step on any cracks, walk under ladders, and make sure the mirrors in his house are securely fastened. With apologies to the SPCA, a rabbit's foot might not be a bad idea either. Maybe he should even eat Lucky Charms for breakfast every day.
He signed on for Madden the 13th -- and counter measures couldn't hurt.
Ya never know.
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