Will Ohio State Succumb to the Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx?

What emotion do you feel of when viewing the above photo? Elation at the Buckeyes #2 ranking? Discomfort regarding Boeckman’s awkward pose? Perhaps, like thousands of others, you feel a sense of dread because of a perceived “Cover Jinx” bestowed by Sports Illustrated.

We have talked about curses associated with the Madden franchise and NCAA Football from EA Sports. Yet, by far, the most documented cover jinx belongs to Sports Illustrated (even SI recognizes some semblance of a curse).

Sure, you can point to Troy Smith’s appearance on the cover as a recent portent of the curse, but Maurice Clarett made the cover only three years earlier with drastically different results (at least in the next game).

You probably noticed that Sports Illustrated was kind enough to spread out the evil eye of the cover by placing Georgia, USC, Missouri, and Florida on the cover in their respective regions.

Surely, if the curse applies at all it will do so in an egalitarian fashion thus dispersing its effects amongst the cover mates. Otherwise, it would be the equivalent of a ghost only haunting one member of a house.

Four of the five teams will play another “covered” squad—Ohio State v. USC and Georgia v. Florida—so on some level the curse will be automatically manifested. Those guaranteed consequences speak less to a curse and more towards a regression to the mean.

Buckeye Commentary subscribes to the latter theory and puts no stock in the Jinx, but we recognize that many people give it some credence. What do you think? Vote in the poll top left and leave your comments below.