We've all heard about the SI Cover Jinx. It's slightly less evil and demonic (and real) than the dreaded "Madden Curse". But it turns out that individual athletes are not the only ones affected by the evil powers that inhabit the artificially produced covers of Sports Illustrated. Who else is affected, you might ask? Let's just say if you are a professional athlete, you do not want to appear in the SI Swimsuit Issue anytime soon with your ladyfriend.
Somebody get Leonard Nimoy on the case, because this is spooky.Now, it would appear that the Swimsuit Couples Jinx takes a little longer to affect those photographed than the normal SI Cover Jinx. But it still gets the job done. Listed on SI's page are a slew of athletes, most of whom have taken a nose dive from grace recently.
Take a quick look at this list, focusing only on the couples featured. A frightening pattern develops.
Quite a few have had what can be described as, depending on your definition, issues.
Roger Clemens (slightly less popular than Dubya), Mark McGwire (um, yeah), Shaun Alexander (pleading the Bengals for a job), Richard Jefferson (apparent choker), Jason Kidd (downfall of Dallas), Glen Rice (violence), Bill Romanowski (supplements/violence and gay cowboy movies, not that there's anything wrong with the latter), Annika Sorenstam (retired), Ricky Williams (weed), Cobi Jones (soccer), Allan Houston (inherited Chris Webber's knees), Alex Rodriguez (too much to name) ... whew ... and there are more!
Eddie George and Tom Gugliotta come to mind, although most of their downturns were pre-photo shoot, which can only be attributed to some Lostian foreshadowing evil, or something. Really, the only person not affected was Keyshawn Johnson, who, as we all know, is the best dressed man in America.
