Brett Favre and the Madden Curse: It's Here, It's Real, and It Won't Go Away

Quite the ominous headline, is it not? Couldn't you hear the dramatic "dum, dum, dummmm" immediately after you read it?

No? Forget you, then.

Moving right along, everyone that's ever paid an inkling of attention to the strange coincidences surrounding EA Sports' Madden NFL video game franchise has watched the 2009 iteration of the top-seller closely.

When EA Sports thought they could finally pull a fast one on the entire video-gaming, football-loving market by selecting a retired NFL star to be the face of their franchise, the Curse reared its ugly head.

The strategy nearly worked. The curse almost snapped and Brett Favre was close to escaping the 2008 season unscathed.

Halfway through the season, everyone was ready to say the Curse was finished.

The Jets were on an impressive winning streak, Favre was establishing a new high for his completion percentage, New York was going to ride his arm directly to the playoffs, and ding-dong the witch is dead.

Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. This time the Madden Curse took the Hall of Fame quarterback down, and made sure to touch everyone close to him in the process. 

First came the inexplicable meltdown from November through December. Brett Favre started underthrowing his receivers. The gunslinger couldn't hit a receiver in stride!

With no significant injuries, no Jets' receiver broke 1,000 yards on the season.

And then his touchdown to interception ratio took a critical turn as Favre only produced two touchdowns with nine interceptions in his final five games.

Still not satisfied? The Jets' head coach was fired, Favre learned he had a torn tendon in his right bicep that could require surgery, and the entire football world fell out of love with him.

And as the Curse continues down its path of merciless destruction, rumors around the NFL are pointing to Favre as part of the reason the Jets will struggle with acquiring a new head coach.

His presence alone is now a red flag for the team's future—four months after being considered the organization's savior.

His legacy will always remain intact. As long as there are dedicated Favre-maniacs, there will always be someone to defend his reputation. But after years of looking like a warrior and champion, Favre's current image is that of a delusional old man who doesn't know when to call it quits.

That's Madden's fault.

Angel Navedo covers the New York Jets for Examiner.com. His work can also be found on NYJetsFan.com, where he is the Head Writer, and on MyGridironSpace.com—a premier social networking site built exclusively for NFL fans.

He is also a Senior Writer at the Bleacher Report, where he is one of the New York Jets Community Leaders.