Thursday, EA Sports revealed the cover athlete for Madden NFL 11, and the player they selected certainly is deserving. Now let's consider some of the less deserving athletes out there.
Ben Roethlisberger immediately comes to mind. His six-maybe-four game suspension for trying to hump a drunk 20-year-old in a bar crapper was announced a day before Drew Brees' appearance on the Madden cover. But let's think on this: Big Ben's going to be sitting for a month. Unless he rides a motorcycle helmetless, he'll be at full strength when he resumes.
Brees, however, a pillar of his community, is now due for a season-ending hyperextended gall bladder or dislocated face or something thanks to the infamous Madden Curse. Wouldn't it have been better to sentence Roethlisberger to the cover and toss his entire season in the toilet?
That's the premise anyway, and don't feel the need to stick to just Madden, or to just football players, or even just to sports figures. Take a box - preferably from a long-running series - stick someone famous on it, and make it obvious this isn't an honor. If you'd like, you may venture into bogus screengrabs or any other concept in mind. You guys have been very good about three straight weeks of really open-ended themes. You were due for something more accessible, like a box art theme, but feel free to explore the space. Here's some big-size cover art to start you off.
To enter, post your images in the comments below. I and the starred commentariat will approve and promote as many as we can periodically. Remember, if you haven't been approved for commenting, this is a great way to earn the privilege.
If you post and it doesn't show up immediately, be patient. You are posting from an unapproved account and I or one of the starred commenters will get around to approving it. I can still see your entry even if others can't. So that also means, don't email it to me, or to tips, or to all the editor emails.
Also, you no longer have to worry about size restrictions. I've figured out a way of coping with very large images. Don't go crazy, now, but this places the focus where it should be, on image quality and not arbitrary things.
You know the drill, 20 best shops get in the gallery on Saturday. Have fun!