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Drew Brees to be on the cover of Madden NFL 11, will probably get injured shortly

It's that time of year again. Once again, a star NFL athlete has been chosen to be sacrificed upon the altar of the Madden Curse. This time, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees will likely face personal injury, as he's going to be the NFL player on the cover of Madden NFL 11.

This is the first time that fans have picked who will be on the cover of a Madden game. From February 4 to March 15, Madden fans voted for their choice of player on the Doritos Change the Game web site. So when Drew Brees gets hurt and is out half the season, this time it's your fault.

Some might say that the Madden Curse is a hoax, or a joke, or a series of coincidences. Whatever it is, it's pretty damn amusing that nearly every athlete on the cover of a Madden game made in the last decade has either gotten injured or simply performed poorly. According to Wikipedia, the following players have allegedly suffered from the Madden Curse:

• Dante Culpepper, Madden 2002. Threw 23 interceptions and broke the record for fumbles that season. Blew out both his knees in 2005 and 2006.
• Marshall Faulk, Madden 2003. Yards per carry average dropped from 5.4 to 4.0. Retired after knee surgery in 2005.
• Michael Vick, Madden 2004. Broke his leg and missed the first 12 games of the season. Went on to be a total douche to dogs.
• Ray Lewis, Madden 2005. Injured his wrist and was out for the rest of the season after week 15.
• Donovan McNabb, Madden 2006. Tore his ACL, ending his season.
• Shaun Alexander, Madden 2007. Injured his foot and missed 6 starts.
• Vince Young, Madden 2008. Injured his knee, keeping him out of the rest of the season.
• Brett Favre, Madden 2009. Wasn't injured. Why? Because Madden loves Brett Favre.
• Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald, Madden 2010. Polamalu sustained two injuries and missed several games that season. Fitzgerald injured his ribs and missed the playoffs, but otherwise had a good season.

Anyone want to take bets on what will get Brees? I'm thinking either a torn rotator cuff or dysentery.