NFL Curses: Ten Curses That May Be Plaguing NFL Teams

Every year, the NFL is filled with coincidences and teams that seem as though they just can't win or get a break.

Some people think there may be something beyond our control at work. Maybe something supernatural, like karma and curses.

Others dismiss it as coincidence and particular teams simply sucking for a long period of time.

Here's a look at 10 NFL curses suspected to be plaguing the league to this day.

Tampa Bay Buccaneer Curse

The curse doesn't actually affect the Bucs, just teams who lose to them.

The Bucs were added to the NFL, along with the Seattle Seahawks, as expansion teams in 1976.

Since Tampa Bay's existence, no team to lose to the Bucs has ever gone on to win the Super Bowl.

Currently there is one team active in the playoffs who lost to the Bucs this season: The New Orlean Saints. If they don't win this years Super-Bowl the curse will live on.

Madden Curse

So far, nearly every player to grace the cover of EA's Madden Football has been hit by the curse.

The only arguable exception is Brett Favre, who appeared on the cover as a Packer but played for the Jets.

But Eddie George, Daunte Culepepper, Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick, Ray Lewis, Donovan McNabb, and Shaun Alexander have all been victims.

For Madden 2010, the developers thought having two players on the cover would negate the curse. So the cover featured Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu.

Larry was fine; Troy, on the other hand, spent most of the season injured, and his team failed to make the playoffs.

I wonder who's next....

The Chunky Soup Curse

This curse affects all NFL players who appear in the soup's ads.

The earliest victims were Kurt Warner and Terrell Davis. Warner missed nearly two seasons, and Davis was forced into early retirement because of knee injuries.

Donovan McNabb suffered a broken ankle after his first Chunky Soup commercial.

Michael Strahan and Brian Urlacher both finished the 2004 season on IR (injured reserve), after appearing in their commercials.

Other victims include Jerome Bettis, Ben Roethlisberger, and Matt Hasselback.

The only two players to avoid the curse are John Lynch and Ladainain Tomlinson (pictured above).

Whether Tomlinson escaped the curse is questionable, as he posted his lowest career total yards after the commercial.

The suspected reason for the curse is that players appeared with actors portraying their mothers.

In more recent commercials, McNabb appears with his real mother.

Super Bowl Hangover Curse

Nearly every year, the loser in the previous Super Bowl goes on to have a below-average year.

A few exceptions include the Buffalo Bills, who lost four consecutive Super Bowls from 1991-94, and the 1999 Tennessee Titans, who posted a 13-3 record before their Super Bowl loss and came back in 2000 with another 13-3 season.

The third and last team to do was last year's Super Bowl losers, the Arizona Cardinals, who improved to 10-6 after last year's 9-7.

Aside from those three exceptions, nearly every team to lose the Super Bowl disappointed the upcoming season.

Buffalo Bills—Simply Flat-Out Cursed

Some people say the city is cursed.

Some say the management and owners are cursed.

Some say the Bills are cursed for drafting O.J. Simpson, and some say they are cursed for the behavior of their fans.

Whatever the reason, one thing is for sure in order to lose four consecutive Super Bowls—you have a lot of negative "karma" floating around.

Do I believe the Bills are cursed? Hell yeah!

Honey Bear Curse

The Honey Bears were the Chicago Bears' beloved cheerleading squad from 1977-85.

In 1983, ownership changed hands, and new management tried to do away with the Honey Bears because they weren't interested in female cheerleaders.

Fortunately, they were under contract through 1985.

Then, in the Honey Bears' final year, the Bears won all but one game and went on to win the Super Bowl.

Since then, the Bears are cursed never to win a Super Bowl again until they bring back the Honey Bears.

The Revenge of Marcus Allen—Oakland Raiders

Marcus Allen left the Raiders after 11 seasons because of a feud and contract dispute with Al Davis, when Davis called Allen a cancer to the team.

He went on to join the Raiders' hated rival, the Kansas City Chiefs.

During Allen's four-year tenure with the Chiefs, they won more games than any other team in the league.

Marcus Allen also went on to lead the team in rushing every year.

Allen went on to retire a Chief and be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a Chief—not a Raider, despite 11 years in Oakland.

Allen's strained relationship with Davis reached an all-time low in December 1992.

During halftime of the Raiders-Dolphins game on Monday Night Football, a taped interview with Al Michaels was broadcast, with Allen stating that Davis "told me he was going to get me."

Allegedly, Allen put a hex on Davis by cursing a photo of him.

To this day, Allen keeps that picture in his freezer—and the Raiders will not win another Super Bowl as long as that picture is in Allen's possession.

And since Allen left, the Raiders have not won a single Super Bowl—although they got close in 2003.

It seems about time the Raiders raided Allen's fridge.

Curse of the Powder Blue—San Diego Chargers

No, I'm not talking about the Chargers' newer colors with the dark powder blue. That's not a bad color.

I'm talking about those hideous, pale baby blue throwbacks.

That abomination is not only one of the ugliest things ever worn by an NFL player, but also the most feminine color scheme ever worn in the NFL.

That makes the Chargers the most metro-sexual team in the NFL.

Such a color is an insult to the spirit of the game and does not belong on the gridiron.

Despite 50 years of existence, the Chargers don't even have one Super Bowl victory.

All they have to show for their years in the NFL are one AFC Championship and a 49-26 beating in Super Bowl XXIX.

Why? Because the Chargers are cursed never to win the big game in any year they wear those hideous baby blue throwbacks.

The Curse of the Pottsville Maroons—Arizona Cardinals

In 1925, the Pottsville, Pa., Maroons defeated the then-Chicago Cardinals 21-7 in the championship game.

A week later, the Maroons played the 1924 College Champion Notre Dame Alumni team.

The Maroons defeated the Fighting Irish alumni 9-7 in a game historians say helped prove the pro game surpassed the college game.

Because the game was played in a region where the Maroons were not allowed to collect gate tickets, they were fined $500, expelled from the league and stripped of their title.

That title was given to the Chicago Cardinals, the team the Maroons defeated in the championship game.

Since then, the Cardinals haven't won a championship and are cursed never to win one until the 1925 title is returned to its rightful owners in Pottsville.

Then the 2008 Cardinals won the NFC Championship. Funny thing, though.

In their only Super Bowl appearance, they lost to another Pennsylvania team—the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Sounds like payback.

Curse of Bobby Lane—Detroit Lions

Bobby Layne led the Detroit Lions to three NFL Championships and a decade of greatness. In 1958, the Lions' last championship year, Layne was injured.

The Lions thought he was past his prime and traded him to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Layne allegedly responded saying that the Lions would "not win for 50 years."

Fast forward to the 50th anniversary of the curse. The Lions posted the worst record in league history, going 0-16. Coincidence?