Daunte Culpepper Heroically Leads Madden Team To Super Bowl

ORLANDO, FL--Just days after suffering a season ending knee injury, the Vikings' Daunte Culpepper is back on top. The 28-year-old quarterback has successfully led his Madden 2006 team, the New England Patriots, to a Super Bowl victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Though he never had to leave his couch, Culpepper said it was an “emotionally draining” experience and planned to rest for a few weeks before starting a new season.

“Yes! Man, that was a great run,” said Culpepper, who passed for 4 touchdowns in the big game. “It’s just so rewarding when you go through a whole season like that, all the ups and downs, and you’re the last one standing at the end. You practice every week, you work so hard, you go through so much adversity, it’s just—I’m speechless, really. I just thank God that I had the opportunity to injure my knee so I could be in this situation. I hope it never heals.”

Culpepper went on to describe how much adversity he overcame during his Madden 2006 season.

“Man, talk about adversity. From week one until the Super Bowl, it was a roller coaster ride,” he said. “I have to admit that I got pretty discouraged when Branch went down with a foot injury in Week 3, but David Givens really stepped up to take his place. And Tom Brady. What can you say about Tom Brady? At first I seriously considered trading for myself, but then I figured, why settle for less than the best?”

Culpepper also considered using his actual team, the Minnesota Vikings, but changed his mind after weighing the pros and cons. The Madden 2006 Patriots are simply a more complete team.

“Of course I have a loyalty to my actual team, the Vikings, but in the end, it’s not about loyalty, but about wins and losses. I tried playing with the Vikings once and it didn’t work out. The players were never where they where supposed to be. I guess they were going for ultra-realistic game play. They really nailed it. A couple times I had 12 men on the field. One time I had 13. It was chaos. Talk about life imitating art.”

Though Culpepper is slated to return next year, it’s doubtful he will ever be the same player again. He suffered a torn ACL, PCL, and MCL, meaning his knee will have to be rebuilt before he can resume his playing career. The uncertainly surrounding his future makes his Madden Super Bowl victory all the more rewarding.

“I don’t know where I’m going to be this time next year,” Culpepper said. “That’s why this victory has been so emotional for me. It might be the closest I’m going to get to a real Super Bowl. Next year I might not even have a spot on the team if Mr. Wilf decides to blow the whole thing up. All I can do is put my faith is God that by that time the new Grand Theft Auto will be out.”

Meanwhile in Minnesota, Culpepper’s teammates and coaches tried to adjust to life without their leader. Veteran Brad Johnson has taken over as signal-caller, and the team is hoping to have a strong second half to salvage some semblance of pride.

“Without Daunte here it’s going to be a real challenge for us,” said head coach Mike Tice, who may not be around next year, either. “We’re just going to try and make the best of the situation. If there’s one thing we have going for us, though, it’s that we finally got rid of Randy Moss. What a cancer that guy was! There was no way we were going to win anything with him on the roster.”

Tice did admit to being “somewhat envious” of Culpepper for winning a video game Super Bowl

“I’m really happy for him. I know it’s not an easy thing to do, especially when you’re playing against the computer. I’ve tried it myself several times, but I just haven’t been able to put it all together. Just once I’d like to experience the feeling of being the last team standing, of watching the computerized players mob my computerized image at the end of the game, of feeling a sense of accomplishment after a job well done. Maybe someday it will happen. At least in Madden I can’t get myself fired.”