The Blue Jays have made their first Sports Illustrated cover in more than a decade, but some Toronto fans won’t be happy about it.
While it may seem like an honour, superstitious sports fans know there’s an SI cover ‘jinx’ that’s afflicted many otherwise-successful athletes over the years.
And coming on the heels of the Taylor Swift curse, it seems the baseball gods are trying everything in their arsenal to hinder Toronto’s playoff run.
SI’s baseball playoff preview shows manager John Gibbons along with star pitcher David Price and several sluggers from the Jays’ juggernaut offence, including Edwin Encarnacion and MVP candidate Josh Donaldson.
Some Toronto fans weren’t too happy about the cover.
There’s a long-standing sports superstition that appearing on SI’s cover brings on bad, sometimes catastrophically bad, luck.
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It dates back to 1954, when Atlanta Braves third baseman Eddie Matthews appeared on the cover. The team’s nine-game win streak was subsequently snapped and Matthews broke his hand, missing nine games.
In 1978, Pete Rose’s 44-game hit streak ended on the same week in which he got a cover.
In more recent MLB playoff curses, the Chicago Cubs made a cover in October 2003. Soon after came the infamous Steve Bartman incident and the end of Chicago’s playoff run.
Of course, there are plenty of counter-examples. Michael Jordan appeared on the cover a record 50 times, and his career turned out okay. NBA star Stephen Curry made a cover in May 2015, then won the league championship and MVP award the next month.
So take heart, Jays fans. It’s just an urban myth. We hope.
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