Good news for Vikings star Jared Allen: he no longer has to worry about being swallowed up by the Madden curse.
This year, EA Sports is using a bracket format and fan voting to determine which player will be put on the cover of its "Madden '13" NFL video game. In the first round of the tournament, Allen cruised past Dallas' DeMarcus Ware, winning 58 percent of the vote in that head-to-head matchup.
But in the Sweet 16, Allen was handily beaten by New England tight end Rob Gronkowski -- 65 percent to 35 percent. Gronkowski guaranteed such a destruction, channeling his inner-Gallagher and smashing a watermelon which he said represented Allen.
Gronk, who just might have been seperated at birth from Ronnie of MTV's "Jersey Shore", now moves on to the Elite Eight of the Madden cover vote bracket where he'll next take on Detroit's Calvin Johnson.
The other three quarterfinal matchups: Aaron Rodgers vs. Ray Rice; Cam Newton vs. Larry Fitzgerald; and Patrick Willis vs. Victor Cruz.
As for Allen, this is one loss he might actually be celebrating. After all, appearing on the cover of Madden might seem like an honor. In truth, it's a trap door into misfortune. Some of the more notable victims of the Madden curse:
2001 (Madden '02 cover) - Daunte Culpepper suffered a career-altering knee injury.
2002 (Madden '03 cover) - Marshall Faulk was bothered by an ankle injury and struggled through an unproductive year.
