Super Bowl curse
The Super Bowl curse is a phrase coined to explain why Super Bowl participants follow up with lower than expected performance the following year. Also called Super Bowl hangover, it has been utilized to explain both why losing teams may post below-average winning percentages in the following year and why Super Bowl champions seldom return to the Super Bowl the following year. The term has been utilized at least since 1992, when The Washington Post commented that "[t]he Super Bowl Curse has thrown everything it's got at the Washington Redskins. The Jinx that has bedelived defending champs for 15 years has never been in better form".[1] The phenomenon is attributed by football commentator and former NFL manager Charley Casserly to such elements as "a shorter offseason, contract issues, [and] more demand for your players' time".[2] Casserly also notes that "once the season starts, you become the biggest game on everybody's schedule."[2]
Recent observations
While the first five Super Bowl winners of the 2000s posted above average winning percentages the year following their Super Bowl appearance, the losers of the same games posted below average winning percentages in the follow-up year.[3] The Super Bowl curse is also said to apply to winners of the game, as since 1993 few winning teams have followed up their Super Bowl successes with a second Super Bowl appearance (Denver Broncos Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots won; Green Bay Packers lost) or even advanced to a conference title game in the subsequent season (Dallas Cowboys).[2]
Losing teams mentioned in connection to the curse
Super Bowl losing teams who went on to poor follow-up performance include:[3]
- Atlanta Falcons. (Super Bowl XXXIII). 1998-99: 14-2. Following year: 5-11
- New York Giants. (Super Bowl XXXV). 2000-01: 12-4. Following year: 7-9.
- St. Louis Rams. (Super Bowl XXXVI). 2001-02: 14-2. Following year: 7-9.
- Oakland Raiders.(Super Bowl XXXVII). 2002-03: 11-5. Following year: 4-12
- Carolina Panthers. (Super Bowl XXXVIII) 2003-04: 11-5. Following year: 7-9.
- Philadelphia Eagles. (Super Bowl XXXIX) 2004-05: 13-3. Following year: 6-10.
- Chicago Bears. (Super Bowl XLI) 2006-07: 13-3. Following year: 7-9.
- New England Patriots. (Super Bowl XLII) 2007-08: 16-0 Following year: currently 3-2. (Lost QB Tom Brady for the season in the first quarter of the first game against the Kansas City Chiefs.)
Further reading
- "Credit Belichick for beating Super Bowl curse". The Sacramento Bee. October 25, 2006. pp. C3.
- Freeman, Mike (December 12, 1991). "Fans cry: Off with Giants' Head (Coach)!". The Washington Post.
- Green Jr., Ron (November 5, 2004). "Lost-the-Super-Bowl blues afflict Panthers, Raiders". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 2C.
- "Less and more than rumored Miami and the Super Bowl curse". Sarasota Herald Tribune. January 30, 1999.
- Penner, Mike (August 27, 2006). "Curses are reality to fantasy leaguers". Los Angeles Times. pp. D.2.
References
- ^ Boswell, Thomas. (September 21 1992) "A Curse but not yet a sin" (article sample at highbeam.com). The Washington Post.
- ^ a b c Gruber, Jack. (February 6 2007).The Buffalo Bills are not afffected in 1993.Even though they lost to the Dallas Cowboys,THey again made it to the Super Bowl.But Lost again. Champions, for now — Super Bowl curse could vex Colts, Bears. USA Today. Retrieved 19/04/08.
- ^ a b Simpson, Matt. (September 17 2006) Seattle out to break Super Bowl curse. "Tribune". Retrieved 19/04/08.