Not all of my posts will be about sports, I promise. But this is currently on my brain: I never believed in the SI Cover Jinx. For those of you who aren't aware, the theory of this jinx states that any hot team or player featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated will inevitably begin a downward spiral soon after the issue is released. The rational mind immediately dismisses this theory as pure hogwash, reserved for those who believe that they have been abducted by aliens, that shaving will cause hair to grow back thicker, and that Nickelback is a great band. Not a theory I subscribe to. What I do subscribe to is SI and guess who happens to be on the cover this week: My beloved Milwaukee Brewers.
My initial reaction was one of pure excitement. How often does anyone outside of Wisconsin think about the Brewers, much less put them on the cover of the most popular sports magazine in the world? I suppose it was bound to happen due to the fact that they have been the hottest team in baseball for a little over a month. Inevitably, local whispers about the "jinx" started. My excitement soon turned to annoyance. Why can't we just enjoy this? I set out to prove the falsehood of the jinx.
The amount of evidence I used to disprove the jinx was pretty small. I usually keep issues of SI that have an athlete or team that I like on the cover. Most of these covers feature Brett Favre (I was a bigger fan before all the (un)retirement drama and the release of the infamous cell phone picture which, by the way, no woman would EVER respond positively to). I pulled out the top two from the stack that were in my drawer. Here are the results.
Cover #1: From January, 2008. The title is "Winter Wonderland". The picture is Favre in the snow against the Seahawks in a playoff game in which he led the Packers from a 14 - 0 deficit to a blowout win. The very next week? Favre throws a last-second interception against the Giants in the NFC championship game. The jinx theory? Not disproved.
Cover #2: January, 2010. The title is "Favre on Fire". Favre had just spanked the Cowboys in a playoff game with 4 touchdown passes in a blowout win. The very next week? He throws a last-second interception against the Saints in the NFC championship game. The jinx theory? Staring me right in the face.
Now, I know this is an extremely small sample to base my experiment on and Favre did have a tendency to throw heart-breaking interceptions throughout his career. But this has me on edge. What if the jinx has some actual teeth? What if I am invoking it's heinousness upon the Brewers just by writing about it? What if Nickelback is actually a great band?
Real estate note: Home prices appear to be on the rise here in Dane County. Go to wra.org/HousingStatistics/ if you would like more info.
Chris
As mainstream printed word becomes more and more extinct, being the 'most popular sports magazine in the world' is like saying you are America's favorite non-alcoholic beer...
ReplyDeleteWell said Phil. Also, while I do not particularly enjoy Nickelback (except two songs from their pre-hit album "Leader of Men" and "Breath") I do respect their ability to write songs that 10 million people love. I have never done that and probably never will. They are catchy enough, talented enough and, yes, generic enough that a lot of people enjoy their music - although it is getting harder to find people who admit this.
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