That's easily debateable. There are also NCAA fans that can make a case that it was/has been better than Madden. I think it's pretty undeniable that 2K was on a more forward thinking track, and that if both games progressed at the same pace they were, 2K would've surpassed it given what Madden 360 looks like it will be in it's 2nd iteration. Now that Madden has exclusivity, it's going to have more scrutiny.
I'd also argue that there is a lot more discontent out there than we know or allow ourselves to know. If you go online, there are fewer people playing Madden at the same stage even a few years ago (imo). Used to be the forum was full of people speaking on the game's many virtues; now there's a lot more people openly debating whether Tiburon's up to the task (and it's not just a few loud "complainers"). I have a group of friends that were huge Madden fans years ago - we used to get together at least once a month for an overnight session of trash talk/drinking/fun w/Madden. Of that group, only one person still looks at Madden the same way.
Madden isn't horrible. In fact, it can still be a lot of fun playing. But more is expected now. When being successful in the game is based more off your knowledge of taking advantage of the game's quirks than of using sensible football strategies something's wrong. When your speedy 2nd string 180lb DB is a more valuable commodity than your supposed all-pro 250lb LB, there's something wrong. When you have defenses not having to account for containing players like Larry Johnson and Jamal Lewis, and a speedy 90speed back is more important than they are something's wrong. And it's not like we're the only ones that watch/understand basic football concepts. I believe plenty of people see things wrong with the game and feel exactly as we do - there isn't much we can do about it because the game isn't bad enough to not purchase outright if most others are going to purchase it also