How many times have you or a media outlet blamed a loss on the infamous “SI Curse”? I am sure at some point, if you’re a sports fan, you have done it. This theory is that if a player or their team makes the cover, they will ultimately have bad luck for the remainder of the season. This can result in a losing season or even go as far as injury. In 1981, George Brett makes the cover and starts out with a .208 BA and the royals go 3-10. Sports Illustrated then plays a dirty prank on Georgie and reruns the same cover after the strike. He comes back from the strike and starts 1-20. In 1993, Florida State’s kicker Scott Bentley makes the cover as a freshman and the magazine claims he “gives #1 Florida State the edge”. Bentley then muffs 7 (SEVEN) extra point attempts in the next 5 games! In 1997, Lou Davanzo makes the “Faces in The Crowd” section for a dominating performance again Struthers Wildcats only to get posterized by one LeBron James a few short years later. In 2001, Oregon State is named SI’s #1 in the College Football Preview issue. They go on to lose their first game 44-21 to Fresno State and finish up their season 5-6. These are just three incidences where the curse has prevailed, but there are far more.
What caught my attention these past few months if how many regional covers Sports Illustrated has been doing. For the College football preview, there were 5 teams on different covers depending on where you were in the country. Out here in Vegas we had USC. Obviously I would not purchase that, so I had the SI with Ohio State on the cover sent out. One of those 5 teams went on to win the National Championship. No curse there, right? Next up was the College basketball preview and again 5 different teams on 5 different covers. This past week I got the “Can Anyone Stop Them?” issue with the Arizona Cardinals on the cover and thought to myself “well, there ya go, Steelers are going to roll them.” That was until I saw what they were issuing on the right side of this country. It was the same exact template with a different picture. It was a picture of the Steelers this time. This is when it hit me. Sports Illustrated is reversing their curse all by themselves. How can you say whoever loses the Super Bowl was cursed when both teams appeared on the cover? The same goes for the less fortunate teams on the College football preview issue. They have found a way to allow teams and players to appear on the cover of their magazine without worrying if it will jeopardize their future or season. We’ll just have to wait now to see how long the curse can be subdued…
What caught my attention these past few months if how many regional covers Sports Illustrated has been doing. For the College football preview, there were 5 teams on different covers depending on where you were in the country. Out here in Vegas we had USC. Obviously I would not purchase that, so I had the SI with Ohio State on the cover sent out. One of those 5 teams went on to win the National Championship. No curse there, right? Next up was the College basketball preview and again 5 different teams on 5 different covers. This past week I got the “Can Anyone Stop Them?” issue with the Arizona Cardinals on the cover and thought to myself “well, there ya go, Steelers are going to roll them.” That was until I saw what they were issuing on the right side of this country. It was the same exact template with a different picture. It was a picture of the Steelers this time. This is when it hit me. Sports Illustrated is reversing their curse all by themselves. How can you say whoever loses the Super Bowl was cursed when both teams appeared on the cover? The same goes for the less fortunate teams on the College football preview issue. They have found a way to allow teams and players to appear on the cover of their magazine without worrying if it will jeopardize their future or season. We’ll just have to wait now to see how long the curse can be subdued…
Posted in Awesomeness
