Last year there was quite a fuss made all around New England over the appearance of Rob Gronkowski on the cover of Madden 17. Then Gronk suffered a hamstring injury during the summer, got off to a slow start and ultimately was forced to undergo back surgery and wound up on injured reserve.
The more superstitious fans pointed toward the dreaded Madden Curse as being responsible for the unfortunate set of circumstances that hit the All-Pro tight end. Now things might escalate to a whole level.
Madden 18 is on the way and lo and behold the cover boy is once again a member of the Patriots, only this time it none other than Tom Brady himself. It makes sense considering the franchise is billing the latest version as its G.O.AT. edition, so who better than Brady to personify the G.O.A.T.?
This fact will no doubt cause some sleepless nights throughout the rest of the offseason among those believing in curses. Even though the so-called curse is largely a myth with most cover boys emerging unscathed. But that won't stop New Englanders from fretting over the well-being of their favorite quarterback.
Brady isn't too concerned. He appeared in a Facebook video and explained how there's no such thing as curses. He's spoken often in the past about his preparation and how it prevents injuries, and he feels this is no different.
https://www.facebook.com/TomBrady/videos/1560009470706864/
So this week's Samsonite Make Your Case question is: Do you agree with Brady that there's no such thing as a Madden Curse?
PFW's Paul Perillo says ...
YES
This is one of those no-win situations. No matter what happens it obviously won't have anything to do with the Madden cover, but every will claim that's the reason for even the slightest bit of adversity that could come the Patriots way. In others words, if the Patriots lose a game be prepared for a lot of curse talk.
I'm with Brady here, though. The guy is maniacal in his approach and does everything he can to prepare for the rigors of a season. He's been able to avoid injuries for the most part and his presence on the cover of Madden won't change that.
He even took to breaking mirrors and walking under ladders to prove there's no such thing as curses. Now, all he has to do is play to his normal standards and lead the Patriots to another Super Bowl. No big deal!
--PP
PFW's Andy Hart says ...
NO
Not only do I think that the aged Tom Brady is needlessly and carelessly tempting fate with his blatant disregard for the history of the Madden curse, he's been challenging karma for months since telling MMQB.com that it's hard for him to get hurt!
Brady has been one of the most durable, productive players in the game since he last missed time to injury with his torn ACL in 2008. He works year-round to remain healthy and ready to play. Why would he so blatantly egg on the unseen and inexplicable powers of karma and the Madden Curse so brazenly when the Patriots appear poised for another Super Bowl march in 2017?
Now I'm really glad the Patriots kept Jimmy Garoppolo. Brady may be the G.O.A.T but he's messing with powers beyond his worldly TB12 control. Fingers and toes crossed while knocking on wood and tossing Himalayan pink salt over my shoulder!
--AH
Now it's your turn to cast a vote in this week's Samsonite Make Your Case poll question.
[wysifield-embeddedpoll|eid="552691"|type="embeddedpoll"|view_mode="full"]
