Will Drew Brees Fall Victim To The Madden Curse

Barry Sanders, Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, Shaun Alexander, Vince Young, and Troy Polamalu all have something in common.  They have all appeared on the cover of “Madden” and they have all fallen victim to the “Madden curse”.  Look, I’m not a very superstitious guy and I don’t believe there is really a curse attached with being on the cover of this video game, but it seems as if nearly every player that has graced the cover has retired, had a horrible season, or gone down with an injury the year they became the cover-boy.  Could Drew Brees be next?  After a tremendous season this past year and leading his team to the Super Bowl Championship, the fans were able to vote for who should be on the cover of the video game this year, and Drew Brees was named the winner…or loser depending on how you feel.  It has gotten him a lot of attention and it’s obviously an honor to be on the cover of a video game, but maybe, just maybe, New Orleans should think about bringing in a solid backup quarterback in case the curse strikes again.

Drew Brees joined XX Sports Radio in San Diego with Scott and B.R. to talk about trying to avoid the “Madden curse,” whether or not he thought twice about gracing the cover, what it’s like to get followed around by TMZ all the time now, and whether or not he has spoken to former teammate LaDainian Tomlinson since his release from the Chargers. On the “Madden curse”
“Well, you know, I think that thing has kinda taken on a life of its own.  Obviously its something that everyone jokes about and I guess it’s not really much of a joke.  First of all, this was the first year the fans have voted on it.  It’s not like I was just chosen by Madden.  The fans voted on it, they voted me on the cover, so I see that as a big honor.  Plus, every time somebody sees us on a billboard, or they see us on the shelf in the store, or they pick it up to play it, it takes them back to the moment of our Super Bowl, our season, and our time in New Orleans.  It very much still puts a focus on New Orleans.  I thought there were so many positives of being on the cover.  C’mon this is something you dream of when you’re a kid, being on the cover of a video game.”

On whether or not he hesitated to be on the cover:

“Oh yeah.  No brainer. There wasn’t even a hesitation not to do it.”

On getting followed around by TMZ all the time:

“No. When you’re on the field and there’s a camera in your face basically the camera will say NFL Films on it, or ESPN, or something like that. This is just some random dude with a little Sony Handy-cam following you around.  I have no idea who this dude is. He doesn’t have a TMZ shirt on or anything like that.  So I had no idea who this guy was. I didn’t know if he was like shooting an independent film and he’s just asking me questions. I didn’t even know what that was or where it was going, but it’s just kinda crazy to think that there’s all kinds of that stuff happening everyday across the country”

On whether or not he would’ve granted the guy an interview if he would’ve identified himself:

“Yeah.  I would have because I’ve actually seen some of the stuff that they have done this off-season.  Which is still kinda crazy to me, but they took some shots out front of our house after the Super Bowl with all the stuff that the people were leaving in front of our gate and on our yard.”

On being on Letterman and doing the top 10:

“That was fun.  You can obviously give a little personality to that.  I thought everyone of those were pretty funny.  I thought the writers did a pretty good job with that top ten.”

On how LaDainian Tomlinson feels since his release:

“I don’t know.  I think he’s kinda got a renewed enthusiasm and a renewed motivation.  (Host: Is it kind of like the same enthusiasm and motivation you had when you left?)  Yeah maybe so, but I think it’s a little different situation because you look at the team he’s going to, look at the off-season acquisitions the Jets have made coming off an AFC Championship appearance, where you just feel like they’re only getting better.  They have a legitimate shot so he has to be excited about that.”