Mike Singletary took over as the 49ers Head Coach mid-way through the 2008 season. In his debut game the 49ers were losing by quite a bit going into halftime. In the locker room, Singletary had time for a quick pep-talk. What did he do to rally the troops? He dropped trou, meaning he took off his pants, to show the team how "embarassed" he was. In an attempt to explain this baffling course of action, Singletary said, "I've only got so much time [at halftime]"4. Bret Favre & The Madden Curse-
The Madden Curse is a curse that seems to have affected every NFL player that has graced the cover of the Madden NFL video game since they stopped putting Madden on the cover in 1999. A few of the example of players who have been affected by the curse are Micheal Vick just before his injury, Shaun Alexander just before HIS injury and Vince Young just before a memorably terrible year. Micheal Vick has been convicted of dog fighting and is no longer playing in the NFL, Shaun Alexander was cut from the Seahawks (one of the worst teams in 2008) this year, and Vince Young was benched and has been contemplating suicide. In short, for a decade now, terrible things happen to anyone who is put on the cover of that game.It was time for it to stop.
So, EA did the smartest thing possible. They put a retired player on the cover. No one could deny Bret Favre was a great choice for the cover, and what could possibly happen to him? He was already retired.
Well, let's quickly review what DID happen:
Bret Favre decided he did NOT want to retire and accused his team of forcing him into the decision. The team responded that they could no longer use him and it was time to look to the future and told him not to come to training camp. Favre and Green Bay's argument descended into a child-like elementary school argument of pointing fingers, insults and threats. One of football's most respected heroes lost most of the esteem he had achieved in one short preaseason and ended up being traded to the NY Jets after trying to "call Green Bay's bluff." He has also recently been accused of giving insider secrets of the Packers to the Detroit Lions (a team he is in NO way affiliated with) just so they could beat his ex-team, the Packers.
The Madden Curse is real. If it can affect a retired NFL player, it will affect anyone.
3. Al Davis, Lane Kiffin & the Incredible 76 Yard Field Goal-
While playing the San Diego Chargers earlier this year, the Oakland Raiders Lane Kiffin called for a 76 yard field goal to try to get points on the board before the half. That is over 3/4 of the length of a football field. The wind was even blowing toward Janikowski, the kicker making the attempt. The kick did not even get to the other team's end-zone. Kiffin, who had tried to resign before the season, had already been told he would be fired at the end of the season by the owner Al Davis, so I guess he figured, "why the hell not?"
Lane Kiffin was fired by Al Davis the next day.
Al Davis called an over half-hour press conference on why he fired Kiffin for his "web of lies" and conspiracy. The conference was replete with pointless visual aids and accusations that respected media members were lying. Lying about specifics that absolutely no one cared about at all, except, apparently, Al Davis. At one point he said, "I was going to do this, but I AM going to this," before showing everyone a letter on overhead; this preparation clearly shows Al had every intention of "doing this."
Al Davis has also fired Jon Gruden and Mike Shannahan. Both have since won superbowls with other teams. John Madden also retired as head coach of the Raiders because he could no longer put up with Al Davis.
Next year, I think Al Davis needs to be on the cover of Madden NFL.
2. Tatum Bellhop-
Running Back Rudi Johnson was cut from his team in pre-season NFL. After hearing this, the Detroit Lions invited him to try out for their team. Rudi Johnson beat out the current Running Back, Tatum Bell, for the starting job. Tatum Bell was consequently cut from the team. Upon returning to the locker room after practice, Rudi Johnson found that Tatum Bell had stolen his bags in some pouty toddler-like veangence. It was all caught on locker room security cameras. Tatum has earned the nickname Tatum Bellhop for his "help" in moving Rudi Johnson's bags.1. Chad Ocho Cinco-
Marquee player Chad Johnson of the Cincinatti Bengals is known for his end zone dances. He has also garnered the nick name "Ocho Cinco" for the number 85 he wears. Well, the nickname apparently wasn't good enoough for Chad, as he decided to legally change his name to Chad Ocho Cinco, becoming the only person in the world with the last name Ocho Cinco. Chad Ocho Cinco's jersey still reads C. Johnson, because Reebok refuses to scrap all the jersey they have created and change them to Ocho Cinco. The best part of this story? Ocho Cinco does NOT mean Eighty Five in Spanish, just simply Eight Five.
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