Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

Tim Tebow may be one of the most popular players in pro football, but he wasn’t sufficiently popular to “beat” Texans running back Arian Foster in first round of the second annual contrived tournament to determine the player who’ll land on the cover of the Madden video game.

Foster becomes one of 16 athletes who will square off to trim the list to eight, besting Tebow by a 54-46 margin in the first round of online balloting.

It’s a head-to-head voting contest, with NCAA-style seeding and brackets to trim the field down to the final two.

The entire concept is being mentioned here for two reasons:  (1) it’s surprising that Tebow lost at any popularity contest; and (2) the ultimate winner will become the subject of the 2012 edition of the Madden curse, which will come via the cover of the inherently unlucky “Madden 13″ game.

The reality is that there’s no such thing as a Madden curse.  However, if the player allows himself to think that there is, the player could end up being, for example, more susceptible to injury, by trying to avoid being injured.

Last year’s winner, Peyton Hillis, arguably allowed his enhanced fame to unreasonably inflate his opinion of his worth to the Browns.  As a result, Hillis had a rocky season, and he ultimately signed a one-year, $2.6 million contract with the Chiefs.

Foster, who recently pocketed a long-term, big-money deal, has no such concerns.  He has launched a “reversethecurse” hashtag on Twitter, citing players who weren’t affected by the Madden curse — and reasoning that we’re already doomed this year.

“If you believe in superstition, then we’re all gonna die in December 2012 anyway right?” Foster said.  “Vote me on the damn Madden cover.”

Texans fans may disagree, choosing to vote for Foster’s opponent in each remaining level in order to ensure that there’s no curse to reverse.

WRITTEN BY Mike Florio & FULL STORY HERE