Are The Eagles In Fates Cross Hairs? Philadelphia Faces Monday Night Football Jinx
In baseball, the Chicago Cubs failed to make a World Series from 1945 until 2016 because of the Billy Goat Curse. Philadelphia’s sports teams were stuck under the weight of the Billy Penn curse. Being on the cover of Sports Illustrated before the season or event started seemed to be a jinx. Being on the cover of the Madden video game is also a jinx.
However, a new storm of bad juju has entered the athletic atmosphere as the Monday Night football Curse has started brewing.
What is a curse or jinx?
In folklore, a jinx or curse is something attributed to having bad luck. Superstitious people look for indicators of good or bad fortune. If you pick up a four-leaf clover or have a rabbit’s foot, you’ll have good luck or ward off curses. If you break a mirror or walk under a ladder, you’ll have bad luck.
How do jinxes apply to sports?
While most of it is a coincidence, superstitious fans will tie an outcome to almost anything. If you wear the wrong shirt on a given day, your team will lose. In the case of Madden, several players have seen a decline in their performance after appearing on the cover. People link the two events.
In 2023, Monday Night Football has had three games played and each had gruesome injuries. In the grand scheme of jinxes, this is like a Category 1 jinx compared to Madden or Sports Illustrated which is a Category 5 jinx.
Buffalo Bills Damar Hamlin injured on Jan. 3
On Jan. 2, during the 2022 season (but in the 2023 calendar year), Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest after making a tackle and needed to be resuscitated on the field. Hamlin survived and is making a comeback.
New York Jets Aaron Rodgers injured on opening night
On the opening night of the season, New York Jets quarterback (and self-proclaimed owner of the Chicago Bears) Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles heel on the fourth play as a Jets. Rodgers, who was the Jets’ big offseason acquisition, will miss the season, putting a huge damper on the Jets’ Super Bowl aspirations.
Cleveland Browns Nick Chubb injures knee in Week 2
On Monday, Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb suffered a gruesome season-ending knee injury. Chubb’s injury made people recall the time in 1985 when Washington quarterback Joe Theismann suffered a career-ending knee injury on a hit by New York Giants defensive end Lawrence Taylor. Theismann’s injury was also on Monday Night football.
Should Eagles fans worry about their players?
The Eagles play on Monday Night Football three times this season. The first time coming this Monday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If the curse holds, Eagles fans will be holding their collective breaths until the end of the game — they might anyway because if you breathe the wrong way your team may lose. Of course, even if everything goes well on Monday night, they still have two more Monday Night games — including Dec. 25 against the New York Giants.
Wouldn’t be typical for the Eagles to get an injured star player for Christmas. Of course, it would serve them right for throwing snowballs at Santa Claus. Yeah, Santa has a long memory and he keeps receipts.
All that said, two teams are playing. Tampa Bay, Kansas City, or New York could be impacted instead of the Eagles.
How to avoid a jinx
OK, if we have tempted the wrath of the NFL gods, Santa Claus or whatever from high atop the thing, there’s a solution.
According to sciencedaily.com, a 2013 University of Chicago Booth School of Business study, knocking on wood, spitting or throwing salt after tempting fate can undo a jinx.
“Our findings suggest that not all actions to undo a jinx are equally effective. Instead, we find that avoidant actions that exert force away from one’s representation of self are especially effective for reducing the anticipated negative consequences following a jinx” Jane Risen, associate professor of behavioral science at Chicago Booth, said in the study. “Engaging in an avoidant action seems to create the sense that the bad luck is being pushed away.”
So go outside, spin around three times, throw salt while knocking on wood and spitting. You can’t be too careful.
Greg Giesen:
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