If you take a look at Facebook and Twitter, you’ll see plenty of Baltimore Ravens fans denouncing quarterback Lamar Jackson being on the cover of “Madden 21.” Whether you believe in it or not, the so-called “Madden curse” is a phenomenon people have been getting worked up over for more than a decade.
The athletes on the cover of the video game franchise are supposedly cursed, seeing them have a down season that year. Whether that’s an injury, their team not going as far as expected, or any bad thing that could possibly happen; people chalk it up to the “Madden curse” every year.
While fans are concerned about it, Jackson isn’t bothered. On Complex’s “Load Management” podcast, Jackson noted last year’s cover athlete, Patrick Mahomes, led the Kansas City Chiefs to their first Super Bowl win in 50 years. “So, if that’s the curse, I want it,” Jackson said hastily in response.
But Jackson isn’t just fighting the curse of being on a video game cover. The Ravens’ quarterback is also fighting the so-called “Drake curse” after the rapper wished Jackson a happy birthday prior to their playoff game against the Tennessee Titans.
Much like the video game curse, people that believe in the “Drake curse” allege that any player or team the artist supports is doomed to lose. And just like the “Madden curse,” this one has been debunked recently with the Toronto Raptors, Drake’s favorite basketball team, winning an NBA title. Jackson called the curse “BS” on the “Load Management” podcast, saying Drake wore his jersey a few weeks before that as well and Baltimore won without trouble then.
Jackson put it all together when talking to Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks on “Take it There.” When asked about having both the “Madden curse” and the “Drake curse,” Jackson retorted back, “Two negatives make a positive.”
We’ll see if Jackson is indeed cursed this upcoming season. The Ravens are expected to be one of the best teams in the NFL in 2020 and Jackson is one of the favorites to win the MVP award again. Then again, maybe the lofty expectations put on the players and teams after a good season is really why people believe in a curse in the first place.
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