Last week Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. won the coveted (jinxed?) Madden 16 cover. Which added to the SEC’s trophy case with the honor. That means the SEC now has four Madden covers, tied for the most of any¬†league: Beckham, Georgia‚Äôs Garrison Hearst (Madden 99), Alabama‚Äôs Shaun Alexander¬†(07) and Peyton Hillis of Arkansas (12). In retrospect, Hillis getting the nod seems even more insane¬†over time.
But you’ll never guess which league the SEC is tied with. How about the good ol’ Big East?! Syracuse’s supposedly superior new conference, the ACC,¬†gets beaten by its old conference. The now-extinct Big East had FOUR Madden covers.¬†Virginia Tech‚Äôs Michael Vick (04), Miami‚Äôs Ray Lewis (05),¬†Donovan McNabb (06), Pitt’s¬†Larry Fitzgerald (10). Obviously the Big East lost a boatload of its football cred when Miami and Virginia Tech left more than a decade ago. But it’s still damn impressive that the league has as many Madden covers as the all-powerful SEC.
Forget DeflateGate, this is what gets the football juices flowing in May! For what it’s worth the Giants are +350 to win the NFC East, the Bills +550, the Jets +800 to win the AFC East with¬†NFL betting at CarbonSports. Clearly this is just representative of an NFL star, at the peak of his popularity, being voted to rep a video game, and years removed from college. But for any big conference college football honks who want to stomp on the old Big East, you now have this debate ammo. The Big East wasn’t the SEC or the Big 10, but it produced some of the game’s biggest stars. Just check the Madden covers.
Posted: D.A.
