Madden fan vote: I call bullshit

Am I REALLY the only one who noticed this?

So, for those not in the know, this year video game giant Electronic Arts let the fans vote for their cover athlete. Normally, the cover athlete is chosen based on the new key feature, this is the first time fans are allowed to vote. In the end, it came down to Mike Vick, and Peyton Hillis. I’m sure you know who Mike Vick is…and for those not in the know, Hillis is the running back for the Cleveland Browns.

Mike Vicks biggest competition on his way to the finals was Adrian Peterson, while Hillis faced off with a Super Bowl champion, the invisible title belt toting Aaron Rodgers. While Vick beating out Peterson is believable…Vick was one of the hottest stories in the league last year…and Peterson fumbles often… Hillis over Rodgers…ridiculous! While it’s said that Cleveland sports radio pushed for Hillis to get the cover, I find it hard to believe they supported enough to get him past Rogers. While the Browns fan base was once one of the strongest, I doubt they are still that powerful…more powerful than the cheese heads? Fuck no! Aaron Rodgers was every where…if this was like a presidential race, he would have taken all the electoral collage votes for cheese heads, and the votes for the football fans with no team. How much airtime did the Browns get last year? Exactly.

In the end, Hillis faced off with Vick. While sure, Vick has some controversy going against him, but the added controversy makes him a bigger story than Hillis, and without the controversy, he’d still be a bigger name, image for the cover. Vick has had little to no trouble since his release from jail. He’s earned a starting spot with the Philadelphia Eagles…a team which before signing him, already had two good quarterbacks. He has also silenced a lot of his doubters who believed he couldn’t be a pass first quarterback by having a great passing year.

In the end…Mike Vick lost out to Peyton Hillis

While the mainstream gaming press viewed Mike Vick as a possible PR had he received the cover, common sense would say otherwise. There are several players that could have been voted for to represent for the Philadelphia Eagles. Desean Jackson found himself on the Sportscenter highlights repeatedly. Vick didn’t have to be the Eagles candidate…Tom Brady wasn’t the Patriots candidate Add in the fact that Vick already had the cover before…leaving Vick off the ballot would have been understandable…but they didn’t. The end result? The man arrested for his involvement in a dog fighting ring, losses out to a running Back for the lowly Cleveland Browns. That fan base of theirs? The main ones sit in an area referred to as the dog pound. Browns? That’s right…they’re dogs. Irony, PETA campaign, or EA set up?