NEW YORK -- Well, Panther fans don't have to worry about the "Madden Curse."
Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson beat Panther quarterback Cam Newton in fan voting in the finals of the Madden 13 cover competition Wednesday - a competition Cam had dearly wanted to win.
Newton had "Cam-paigned," as he put it, with a seven-minute homemade video seen by more than 148,000 on YouTube. But Johnson - nicknamed "Megatron" - still won in the finals of the 64-player competition. More than 20 million online votes were cast.
The results were announced on a large temporary stage in New York's Times Square, with both players present. Newton and Johnson hammed it up -- Cam more successfully than the softer-spoken Johnson -- for most of an hour with two ESPN2 "SportsNation" co-hosts before Johnson was announced as the winner and his image displayed on huge screens around Times Square.
Newton looked totally surprised when the announcement came, but then recovered well.
"I thought you guys loved me!" he joked to the audience of about 2,000 that was watching the TV show live in Times Square (I was among those in the audience -- I'm in New York already covering the NFL draft).
Then Newton congratulated Johnson. "Big ups to Megatron," he said, using Johnson's nickname.
Both Johnson and Newton said they didn't believe in the "Madden Curse." Traditionally, the player on the video game's cover has gone on the next season to have either an injury-plagued or a less productive year. Some Panther fans had gone so far as to vote against Newton, hoping to combat the curse.
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9 years ago
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28 comments:
Doesn't Megatron die in the movie?
Woohoo! - Next Year Cam - focus on that throwing accuracy, and lead this team to the NFC South Title... Go Panthers!
Thank god this idiotic charade is over, now you superstitious fools can go back to waiting for the world to end on 12-21-12.
I didn't want him on the cover because as good as he was last year, it was only one season. I'm nervous about the accolades coming too fast for Cam; I want him to earn them with at least a couple more seasons of great play and hopefully a couple of playoff appearances (and a Super Bowl? ;)
Don't worry Cam, your time is gonna come. Just keep working hard, keep smiling, keep having fun and keep being you.
Die hard Panther fan here and I'm so glad Newton didn't win this vote.
"Avoid that Madden Curse Son!"
Says me and my 50+ votes for Johnson.
I kind of feel bad for Cam that he lost since he wanted to be on the cover so much, but this will put a chip on his shoulder. and we don't have to hear curse talk all year if he tweaks something.
Lions WR Johnson is 6'5" 240 lbs and more talented athletic and twice as strong as Newton. GTech always had big recievers.
Newton needs to take a hint and switch to WR/TE combo his natural position after he hits the weightroom.
Don't sweat it Cam. Now let's focus on getting some talent in the draft and inking some wins in the fall.
I voted multiple times against Cam. Sorry man, we don't need you getting the curse.
Thank you sweet Lord.
I basically broke my fingers voting for Megatron over and over the last few days.
Anyone who doesn't look at the history f the Madden Curse and believe it is real needs their head examined.
Caaaaaaaaaaam-ertime!
19-0 Super Bowl Champs!
My 100 votes for Calvin Johnson, alias Megatron, paid off!!!
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
To anon at 6:41......Megatron couldn't even beat Wake Forest in the ACC championship game. Still glad he won though. Now Cam won't have a sophomore slump. We don't need the curse around the Panthers. Super Bowl here we come!
For you dumb flunks who believe the Panthers are going to the Super Bowl...The Panthers won 6 games last year. 5 of the games were against teams who had a worse record than the Panthers AND the Panthers even lost to the Vikings.
The Panthers aren't going anywhere and you better get your head out of your azz quick. The Panthers will have an extremely successful season to just have a 8-8 or 9-7 record. If you need a reminder, watch replays of the last game against the Saints, or go to your DVR and review the Titans game.
There's being excited and there's reality.
Megatron Rules and that front cover on Madden ROCKS!
Dear Anonymous at 7:40,
Didn't the Lions become the first team to ever lose every single game in a season? They have built themselves around a good qb and we are doing the same thing. We have good offensive talent and getting a lot back on D this year. I can't wait to see where this starts to go now that we're building something good.
Keep going Cam
this is the only loss associated with Cam and the Panthers that will be acceptable from now on. 2012, FEAR NO.1 !!
Also anonymous at 7:40...
Please check playoff records since the Panthers got a team...
Lions = 0-6
Panthers = 6-3
Ready to get back to the playoffs
I guess everyone isn't in love with Cam after all.
Great. there is a curse with this, and Newton does not need a bigger head than he has or inflated ego.
Best loss ever. I love Cam and voted against him. No curse!
I thought it was all BS until I saw the history behind the dreaded "curse". Like 80% of those chosen had crappy seasons or got hurt. Maybe we dodged a bullet. :-)
Glad he didnt win, his head was getting way to big here lately!
As a diehard Lions fan I am happy for Megatron and he will use the proceeds to go to his nonprofit..no such thing as a curse..we've been 0-16 so we know how to survive curses
To all those who voted against Cam because of a "curse" you need to grow up. I suppose you all believe in the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny, too. That being said 2 to 1 Megatron gets dumped in the ocean by week 4
@ Anon APRIL 25, 2012 6:41 PM,
You are without a doubt the biggest fool of 2012 !
There's idiotic trolling, and then there's cr@p like Anon 6:41 PM. Yeah, Cam needs to switch to his "natural position" of receiver after throwing for over 4,000 yards and running for over 700, the first player ever to do so, IN HIS ROOKIE YEAR. And in case you didn't know, he also set the all-time rushing TD record for QBs and the rookie records for most yards, touchdowns scored (at any position), and others. So once we get Cam in his "natural position", maybe Derek Anderson could mentor Clausen in Chud's old pre-Newton offense. Yeah Clausen to Newton, the All-Pro connection! Super Bowl here we come!! And Megatron is "more talented athletic(ally?) and twice as strong as Newton"? ROTFLMFAO!!!!!
If you can't at least even be funny or creative, please just don't bother trolling. You're just embarrassing yourself and exposing yourself as an idiot.
I was able to pat Cam on the back and give him a big "Roll Tide" as he left the stage and was whisked away into the ABC studio. It was a nice moment for sure! He smiled and 30 all around gave a good laugh. Can you hook me up and get me in the draft Scott??
I'm sure the Observer will take up the slack since they have his mug on the cover of the online edition most days. It's OK, Cam. You'll be OK.
Considering all the Panther fans that voted against Cam, I am shocked it was so close (52% to 48% in Megatrons favor). With that said, I think a lot of people must love Cam. I kind of wish he would have won - (don't believe in curses), but now we can get back to real football!
Go Panthers! Go Cam!
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