Jamal Anderson graced the young gamers with his presence at last weekend’s Canadian Madden Challenge finals. The former running back for the Atlanta Falcons, who racked up 5,336 rushing yards on his career, was not oblivious to what Madden NFL now truly is. It’s no longer simply a video game, rather, it is a way of life, surrounded by grandiose fanfare and hoopla. Anderson likes to think that he played a small role in bringing the game to the forefront of where it is right now. He was involved with the game during its infancy, right before it came to power.

One of his roles came in 1995 when he hosted the first Madden Bowl, where NFL players squared off against each other in Madden to find the ultimate gamer of the league. That year, Steve Smith came away with the title.

Anderson almost was one of the few players to grace the cover of the game. He was holding out in 2001 when Eddie George took the position and was depicted on the cover. But really, is being on the cover of Madden NFL something to be coveted when you factor in the infamous Madden Curse, where players generally have a very bad year when they appear on the cover? George debunked that theory when he put up career numbers on the ground after being pictured on the cover.

Anderson doesn’t buy in to it either.

“To call it a curse, that’s a little harsh,” Anderson said. “It’s a little weird, but I wouldn’t call it a curse.”

Anderson also said that it would have been cool if the video game was where it is at now back when he played.

“The advent of the Internet and technology is really what makes this as big as it is,” Anderson said. “I don’t look back on it and wish that I could have been apart of it though.”