Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx

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The Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx is a myth that states that individuals or teams who appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated magazine will subsequently be jinxed (experience bad luck).

Contents

[edit] Explanations

While the list of "examples" of the jinx may be extensive, an individual record of 49 cover appearances[1] by Michael Jordan did not hinder his success. Similarly, Vince Young also overcame the Sport Illustrated jinx by appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated twice during Texas' National Championship season.[2]

The most common explanation for the perceived effect is that athletes are generally featured on the cover at the pinnacle of their careers, so future performance is likely to be less impressive by comparison. This decline in performance would then be perceived as being related to, or even possibly caused by, the appearance on the magazine cover. This perceived correlation is present for a statistically significant number of featured athletes. This effect is related to the statistical phenomenon of regression toward the mean.[original research?]

This explanation does not apply to rookies or others who are featured relatively early in their careers.

SI addressed their own opinions on the "alleged" cover jinx in a 2002 issue that featured a black cat on the cover.[3]

[edit] List of incidences

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Sports Illustrated". CNN. http://i.cnn.net/si/si_online/covers/images/1984/1210_large.jpg. 
  2. ^ Paula Zahn (2002-01-25). "Is Their (sic) a "Sports Illustrated" Cover Jinx?". CNN. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0201/25/ltm.01.html. Retrieved 2007-08-28. 
  3. ^ "The Cover That No One Would Pose for: Is the SI Jinx for Real?". CNN and Sports Illustrated. 2002-01-21. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/cover/coverlarge012102.html. Retrieved 2009-09-25. 
  4. ^ Andy Staples (2009-09-25). "The SI Cover Jinx Strikes Again!". CNN and Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/andy_staples/09/25/olemiss.carolina.jinx/. Retrieved 2009-09-25. 

[edit] Further reading

  • Wolff, Alexander. "Unraveling the Jinx." SportsIllustrated.com. January 15, 2002.
  • ———. "That Old Black Magic." Sports Illustrated. January 21, 2002, 50–61.
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