Sports fans are always looking for scapegoats. Sometimes, it’s an overeager fan, or a player who botches a key play, or one time even an actual goat, but can disappointed fans blame Taylor Swift‘s 1989 World Tour for their heartaches this year?
In December 2014, the Houston Astros raised some eyebrows when they announced they were considering rescheduling a planned October 13th Taylor Swift concert, because the concert might interfere with baseball’s playoff schedule. This surprised many fans because only the year before, the Astros finished with a full 28 games out of first place. That’s the equivalent of sending out wedding invitations before you’ve even had a first date.
Playoffs. That’s cute. RT @astros: The Taylor Swift show at #MMP is subject to change if it conflicts with an #Astros postseason home game.
— Matt Sebek (@MattSebek) December 11, 2014
However, on July 27th, the Astros were 55-45 with a shot at making the postseason and the team announced that they were rescheduling the concert. Flash forward several months later and the Astros made the playoffs, but their season came to end following a loss to the Kansas City Royals… on October 13th, the original date of the Taylor Swift concert. Royals pitcher Johnny Cueto was credited with the win, but we think Swift really deserves the “W” here.
The Astros weren’t the only team seemingly affected by a Swift Curse. In fact, almost every major sports team that has hosted Swift during her world tour has suffered some sort of cartoonish downfall.
The Washington Nationals missed the playoffs with a disappointing 83-79 record after being declared World Series favorites before the season began. And just two days after Swift’s performance at Nationals Stadium, the lights kept going out at the stadium, as if the ballpark was haunted by a real life poltergeist. Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer even joked about a Swift Curse on Twitter.
Well who was the last one to use Nationals Park last? Taylor Swift.. I blame her for the power outs tonight. We now have #BadBlood
— Max Scherzer (@Max_Scherzer) July 18, 2015
Additionally, the San Diego Padres finished in 4th place despite an incredibly productive offseason and the Toronto Blue Jays are currently losing in the American League Championship Series following Swift’s performance at the Rogers Centre earlier in October.
And while Taylor’s effect on baseball has been well documented, it’s not the only sport that’s been affected by the curse. NFL teams that have hosted Swift will hold a combined 28-29 record at the end of week 6. The Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle Seahawks are all suffering losing seasons. And Swift’s August 15th performance at Levi’s Stadium, capped off an unprecedentedly bad offseason for the San Francisco 49ers which saw the departures of several keys players including potential Hall of Famer Patrick Willis and rookie sensation Chris Borland who unexpectedly retired at age 24.
And while the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys are still in the playoff race, both teams have lost their quarterbacks for extended periods of time. The undefeated New England Patriots have also had their share of troubles despite their stellar record. This past offseason, the organization had to deal with “Deflategate”. Just three days after Swift played at the Patriots’ home stadium in Foxborough, Roger Goodell announced his decision to uphold Tom Brady‘s four game suspension. Brady’s suspension was later overturned by a judge, so basically it took a federal court case to overcome Swift’s unforgivable curse.
In fact, the only teams who are seemingly uneffected by the Swift Curse are the NY Jets and NY Giants. Welcome to New York! Right now, fans of the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers should be making sacrifices to the gods as Swift is scheduled to perform at their stadiums at the end of October.
And even though basketball season hasn’t started yet, some of the biggest injuries of the preseason have affected teams on Taylor’s hit list. The Charlotte Hornets have lost arguably their best player, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, to a season ending injury, LA Clippers guard Chris Paul fractured his finger, and the Cleveland Cavaliers have dealt with injuries to Iman Shumpert, Kyrie Irving, and LeBron James who might all miss Cleveland’s season opener.
So what does this mean? Basically, if you’re a fan of the LA Lakers, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, Indianapolis Pacers, or Miami Heat, you should buy a copy of Practical Defensive Magic and Its Use Against the Dark Arts and start studying up on counter-curses.
