Electronic Arts and ESPN have teamed up to make the task of deciding the cover athlete for Madden 2012 interactive. Fans have had the opportunity to vote for their favorite players via an online bracket hosted by ESPN that featured 32 athletes. Starting back in March, voting lasted for one week per round with the players having the most votes advancing to the next round of voting.
The results have been a mix of upsets, lopsided victories, and close calls. One of the two finalists, running back Peyton Hillis of the Cleveland Browns, narrowly beat Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice decisively to advance out of the opening round. In the second round, Hillis squeaked by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan by 2% of the total votes. Ryan was the number two seed. In the semi-finals Hillis beat a third running back, this time it was Jamaal Charles from the vastly improved Kansas City Chiefs. Hillis has the reputation of being a hard-nosed runner that plays with a blue-collar mentality that many fans can relate to. His high vote totals are mildly surprising considering he plays in the sports void called Cleveland. I’m certain Denver Broncos fans wish the vote would bring him back to their team instead of some of the stiffs that made Hillis “expendable”.
The other finalist is the NFL comeback player of the year Michael Vick. If he were to win, this would be the second time he would be featured on the cover of the Madden franchise, making him the first to repeat as cover athlete for the game. Vick was the number three side and had little trouble beating Dallas Cowboys sack-master DeMarcus Ware, Houston Texans superstar wideout Andre Johnson, and Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. The massive amounts of votes in favor of Vick may be due to multiple reasons. Vick is wildly popular in Philadelphia, on television, and oddly still in Atlanta. Vick is also hated by many for his involvement in dog fighting that lead to his arrest and ultimately with him behind bars. Certainly some of the voters are not Vick supporters but vote for him anyway hoping to evoke the Madden Curse on him once again. If he were to win again Vick says “he’ll appreciate it more this time“. Vick was the fortunate enough to avoid the college box art curse and would likely hope to end the Madden curse once and for all.
If you want to vote for either Peyton Hillis or Michael Vick, you still have a little more than a day left to get your votes in. Colin Cowherd and Michelle Beadle will be announcing the winner on “SportsNation” Wednesday April 27, 4pm est on ESPN2.