November 20, 2009
- Roseburg, Oregon
Is the Ducks season now jinxed?
By Addison Taylor KVAL NewsEUGENE, Ore. --- It's called the Sports Illustrated curse, the idea that being on the cover of Sports Illustrated carries a jinx. Legend has it that whoever is on the cover is doomed to bad luck. This coming issue of Sports Illustrated features the University of Oregon Ducks on the cover. It is one of four regional covers in the magazines college football preview.
For some fans, this free publicity comes with a price.
“I can be pretty superstitious about my sports,” Heather Spickard said. She is a member of the UO marching band and is looking forward to the coming season.
She does not believe the Ducks are jinxed.
But Oregon already has some history with the curse. In 2001 Sports Illustrated featured the OSU Beavers on its cover, ranking them number one. They went on to lose their season opener to Fresno State and finish 5-6 for the season.
In 1993 the magazine ran Phil Knight on its cover. The same year Nike’s six-year streak of record earnings ended, stocks plummeted and hundreds of employees lost their jobs.
When asked if he believed in the cover curse, Jamey Jannsen said, “No I don’t ... well actually yes I do, but not if we are on it.”
Sports Illustrated even put itself on the cover one year, asking if the jinx is for real. The magazine did a study on hundreds of covers and the after affects. They said its not real.
Brittany Ballard, an avid Duck fan, believes it’s psychological, “As long as they don’t believe it, if they have it in their heads that they will have a bad season, then they will have a bad season,” Ballard said.
Last time the Ducks were on the cover was in 2003. The week before the issue, UO defeated Michigan. The week after, UO lost to Washington State on our turf.
Regardless of the curse, Duck fans say it is great publicity for a Northwest school, and they have high hopes for this season.
“I think we are going to have a great season coming up, we have a lot of great home games,” Jannsen said.
The season starts Sept. 3 against Boise State in Idaho.
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