I'm sure we all know about the SI Cover Jinx. Wikipedia has a page on it, on examples and contradictions on this jinx.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports...ted_cover_jinx
I've been wanting to take it further, and break down SI covers not listed that I thought would fall under contradictions to the jinx, covers that would give credence to the jinx and those that fall in between.
This took several hours to compile, and if you don't want to read, please scroll down. This is very long. I'm sure I skipped a lot, but I did this because I thought it would be fun, had me thinking and would generate discussion in this thread.
In doing this exercise, I've also noticed some cover athletes balance out. Some who appeared on the cover multiple times had success in spite of appearing on it, but also had failures appearing on another cover.
Based on what you're about to see below, I conclude the SI Cover Jinx urban legend is nothing more than that. Coaches, athletes and teams have good fortune and bad fortune, and no magazine cover is the catalyst for something like that, good or bad.
Affirmations of the Jinx
Baseball
April 9, 1962: Frank Lary graces the cover on a Baseball issue in a year he had a 5.74 ERA in 80 innings of work.
August 10, 1964: Johnny Callison of the Phillies is featured on the cover a month before the Phold, which likely cost Callison the NL MVP that season. The Phillies finish in a tie for second behind NL MVP Ken Boyer and the eventual World Series Champion Cardinals.
March 1, 1965: Jim Bunning and Bo Belinsky are showcased with the headline the Phillies - Old and New- Try Again. Philadelphia, despite a winning record, finishes in sixth place, and while Bunning has a nice year, Belinsky does not.
June 30, 1969: Ron Santo is highlighted during a season that saw a Cubs collapse, with Santo in the on-deck circle in the infamous Black Cat at Shea Stadium incident that season.
October 6, 1969: Frank Robinson and Boog Powell are on the cover not long before bowing out to the Mets in five games in the 1969 World Series.
March 12, 1973: Bill Melton is featured on the cover with the caption Chicago Comes out Swinging. Melton would have an okay year, but the White Sox finished with a 77-85 record.
April 9, 1973: Steve Carlton is highlighted on its 1973 Baseball Issue. Future cover appearances would not have an effect on Carlton, but ERA ballooned to 1973, a stark contrast from the 1.97 ERA he sported in 1972.
October 6, 1975: Four In A Row? That was the question SI asked with Reggie Jackson on the cover. Oakland would lose to Boston in that year's ALCS.
June 11, 1984: Leon Durham is highlighted on the cover during a season the Cubs would blow a 2-0 lead in the NLCS, thanks in part to Durham's Pre-Buckner play.
October 28, 1985: Discussing the World Series, SI notes Ozzie Smith and the Cardinals are flying high, but St. Louis blows a 3-1 series lead, thanks in large part to one of the most controversial calls in sports history.
October 17, 1988: Jose Canseco is advertised en route to Oakland's first of three pennants. In an upset, the A's lose the World Series to the Dodgers in five games. Canseco bats .182 in the Fall Classic. The 1989 World Series would be much kinder to both Canseco and his team.
October 16, 2000: Jim Edmonds is on the cover highlighting the LCS matchups. Edmonds and the Cardinals would lose to the Mets in that year's NLCS.
April 5, 2004: SI calls for the Cubs to win the World Series in a year they miss the playoffs.
May 5, 2008: Kosuke Fukudome is feature on a cover hyping his ability to ending the Cubs' 100-Year Wait. Fukudome's performance tailed off, and Cubs fans would have to wait until 2016 - long after Fukudome's tenure.
April 1, 2013: CC Sabathia graces the cover on one of six Baseball Preview Issues. Other pitchers on these covers would be affected, but with the headline asking if the Yankees can shatter the hopes of AL East Upstarts. The Rays and Red Sox would both make the playoffs, the Yankees would not. Sabathia would struggle and the Red Sox would win the World Series.
April 1, 2013: Stephen Strasburg is highlighted as Mr. October, calling the Nationals to break through and win the World Series. This would be six years too early, as Strasburg would be named the 2019 World Series MVP, but the Nats missed the playoffs in 2013,
March 22, 2016: In one of its preview issues, SI claims to take back its Astros in 2017 World Series prediction and says this is the year. Since 2015, the Astros have missed the playoffs just once, and it was in 2016.
April 2021: Francisco Lindor is featured on the cover after his trade to the Mets as part of the baseball preview. His Mets career has gotten off to a disappointing start.
Basketball
June 4, 1984: Magic Johnson is on the cover highlighting his Finals match with Larry Bird, which Bird won.
June 4, 2001: Shaq is on the cover, and though he would win Finals MVP and the Lakers won their second of three straight championships, the Lakers lost their only game of the playoffs that year two nights later.
March 8, 2004: High schooler Sebastian Telfair is on the cover. In a time when Sebastian Telfair vs. LeBron was a real debate, Telfair never lived up to the hype or anywhere near it.
May 21, 2012: Jabari Parker is his first cover, but hasn't lived up to the hype in the NBA.
Some of the 2017-18 previews didn't go that well. Hyped as a trophy hunter, SI suggested adding Jimmy Butler was Minnesota's answer to chasing the Warriors. Butler's tenure was short-lived, the Timberwolves have never made the Finals and the Warriors won their third championship in four years. Kyrie Irving is also featured, and his time with the Celtics didn't end well, and they haven't reached the Finals since 2010.
In a 2020-21 NBA Preview, Anthony Davis is on the cover, and SI predicts to the Lakers to repeat with a victory over the Bucks. They bow to the Suns in six games in the first round.
Football
January 4, 1965: Frank Ryan and the Browns are highlighted after their NFL Championship win over the Colts. Though Ryan made it to the Pro Bowl in 1965 and 1966, the Browns have not won an NFL Championship since, are one of four teams to have never played in a Super Bowl and Cleveland wouldn't win a major sports championship until 2016.
November 21, 1977: The Steamroller issue with Greg Pruitt, Dave Casper, Sam Cunningham, Jack Lambert and Bert Jones on the cover. It says AFC vs. NFC: The Rivalry Has Become A Rout. However, the Cowboys would go on to win Super Bowl XII that season.
October 1, 1979: Dewey Selmon is featured on the cover, with the caption Tampa Bay: Unbeaten, Untied and Unbelievable. The Bucs would go on to the NFC Championship Game this season, but lost their next two games after this cover.
May 10, 1982: Bert Jones is featured with Rams owner Georgia Frontiere with the headline Madame Ram Gets Her Man. Bert Jones is somebody who previously was unaffected by the jinx, but he appeared in four games total for the Rams, throwing two touchdowns against four interceptions.
January 16, 1984: Joe Theismann is featured on the cover with the caption Bring On The Raiders! Oakland bests Washington, 38-9, in both one of the biggest blowouts and one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history.
October 13, 1986: John Elway is on the cover following Denver's 6-0 start. Elway would make it to his first Super Bowl this season, but the Broncos would lose their next game.
January 25, 1988: John Elway and the Broncos are highlighted before Super Bow XXII against Washington. However, Denver would lose, 42-10
January 19, 1998: A year after not being bothered by the jinx, the jinx gets Antonio Freeman and the Packers, who lose to the Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII, 31-24. Freeman was featured on the cover of SI's Super Bowl Preview.
Jan. 22, 1990: John Elway is featured in a Super Bowl preview with the caption We'll Show Up. The Broncos would lose Super Bowl XXIV to the 49ers, 55-10.
August 20, 2007: Mike Hart of Michigan is featured on the cover prior to the loss to Appalachian State.
September 2, 2013: Robert Griffin III is featured as part of the New Kings, only to be a bust following his great rookie year.
May 5, 2014: Johnny Manziel is featured as part of the NFL Draft Preview, and goes on to be one of the biggest busts, certainly in the last 10 years, maybe all-time.
August 13, 2018: Arizona QB Khalil Tate is incorrectly hyped as the best quarterback in the nation and worthy of the Heisman.
January 14, 2019: Nick Foles and the Eagles are featured following their Wild Card win the caption, "Again?!" They would be eliminated by the Saints in that year's divisional round.
Fantasy Football Guide 2019: Le'Veon Bell (Jets), Antonio Brown (Raiders) and Odell Beckham Jr. are featured on the cover, with Brown front and center. Only Beckham is still with his current team, and Brown never played in a regular season game with the Raiders following the infamous 2019 saga.
Hockey
March 10, 1980: Jim Craig is on the cover, though he never had the success in the NHL that he had in Lake Placid. Not only that, he's featured with the Atlanta Flames, who soon moved to Calgary.
May 14, 1984: The Drive for Five - Mike Bossy powers the Islanders Toward a Fifth Straight Stanley Cup, which was denied by the Oilers, and the Islanders haven't been back to the Finals since.
2013: Predicted to be Stanley Cup Champions again, the Blackhawks fall in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals to the team did win the Cup, the Kings.
June 2, 2014: The Rangers are on the cover before losing the Stanley Cup Final in five games.
Golf
March 11 1985: Gary Nicklaus is featured on the cover, with his famous father in a smaller picture. Gary would never attain his father's success.
April 22, 2003: Dubbed A Star is Born, Mike Weir was featured after winning the Masters, his only Major victory, and hasn't won a ton of events on the tour altogether.
November 2020: Hyped as breaking golf, Bryson DeChambeau has an underwhelming performance at the Masters that month.
Boxing
September 29, 1980: Muhammad Ali is featured before his fight with Larry Holmes. If there ever was a time Ali fell to the jinx, this was it in a fight boxing fans hate.
June 1, 1981: Marvis Frazier is pictured with his father, Joe. Marvis may best be known for being knocked out in extremely short order by Mike Tyson.
Track and Field
March 6, 1978: Houston McTear is on the cover, and he unfortunately had a lot of personal struggles later in life.
Horse Racing
June 18, 2018: Justify is highlighted after the Triple Crown win, and while his Triple Crown win stands, controversy has arisen over what was in his system.
Contradictions to the Jinx
Baseball
August 10, 1959: Nellie Fox and Luis Aparacio are featured on the cover, touted as Magic Up the Middle. The White Sox win their first pennant since 1919. Fox wins A.L. MVP, Aparicio finishes second in voting.
July 2, 1962: Mickey Mantle is on the cover during his final MVP season and final World Series winner.
July 13, 1965: Run for the Flag, featuring Maury Wills, who leads baseball in steals, finishes third in NL MVP voting to help the Dodgers win the pennant and the World Series
October 16, 1967: Lou Brock is featured, has an excellent World Series, which the Cardinals won.
May 31, 1971: Year of the Hot Ones; Hottest of All, Oakland's Vida Blue, who would go on to win the AL Cy Young and AL MVP this season.
June 12, 1972: Dick Allen is on the cover during his AL MVP season.
August 13, 1974: Dr. Mike Marshall is on the cover during his NL Cy Young season.
July 31, 1975: Jim Palmer and Tom Seaver are both featured on a cover during a season both won the Cy Young.
April 10, 1978: The previous year's MVPs, George Foster and Rod Carew, are on the cover. Both players, especially the latter, had fine 1978 seasons.
April 9, 1979: The same thing from the year before, 1978 MVPs Dave Parker and Jim Rice both had nice seasons in 1979.
July 21, 1980: Hailed for Mastery and Mystery, Steve Carlton is on this cover during his third Cy Young season that helped the Phillies finally win their first World Series.
March 16, 1981: Rollie Fingers is on the cover ahead of his Cy Young/MVP season.
May 18, 1981: Fernando Valenzuela is featured on the cover during a season he wins the N.L. Rookie of the Year, N.L. Cy Young and the Dodgers win the World Series.
May 28, 1984: Alan Trammell is on the cover during Detroit's dominating season, which ended in a World Series Championship and Trammell winning World Series MVP.
September 24, 1984: Rick Sutcliffe and Dwight Gooden are featured as Cy Young candidates. Sutcliffe and Gooden finished first and second in Cy Young voting, respectively, that year, and Sutcliffe's complete game victory on this date gives the Cubs the N.L. East - their first postseason appearance since the 1945 World Series.
April 15, 1985: Dwight Gooden graces the cover the first of two times during his Cy Young season.
September 23, 1985: Pennant Fever, The Heat is On. Ozzie Smith and the Cardinals capture the flag, as Smith has an all-time memorable home run and is named NLCS MVP.
May 12, 1986: Roger Clemens is featured following his 20-strikeout game. Clemens would win MVP and Cy Young this year. He also was featured May 13, 1991, during a Cy Young season, March 1, 1999 ahead of his first World Series win, May 24, 2004 during his seventh Cy Young season. Granted, the PED cloud over his head has done no favors, but at the time, these covers did not affect him.
March 7, 1988: Kirk Gibson graces the cover, goes on to win NL MVP, produce maybe the most memorable home run in baseball history and the World Series in 1988.
May 7, 1990: Touted as the Natural, Ken Griffey Jr. appears on the cover during a great 1990 campaign en route to his Hall of Fame career.
April 4, 1992: Kirby Puckett is on the cover of the baseball issue on his way to a second place finish in AL MVP voting.
July 5, 1993: Mike Piazza is featured during his season he won Rookie of the Year in the beginning to his Hall of Fame career.
July 10, 1995: Hideo Nomo is on the cover, and goes on to win N.L. Rookie of the Year.
July 8, 1996: Alex Rodriguez is touted as the game's next superstar, and regardless of what would happen later on, he did reach superstar status.
October 21, 1996: Derek Jeter is on the cover as he leads the Yankees into the World Series. Jeter and the Yankees erase a 2-0 deficit to the Braves for the first of four of the next five World Series the Yankees would win.
May 28, 2001: Ichiro is on the cover while winning Rookie of the Year, A.L. MVP and the Mariners winning 116 games.
September 13, 2004: Hot Sox, Do You Believe? Curt Schilling is on the cover preceding the Bloody Sock Game, erasing the 3-0 deficit and winning the 2004 World Series.
April 3, 2006: Albert Pujols is on the cover of the 2006 Baseball Preview ahead of his first World Series win.
July 7, 2008: Tim Lincecum is showcased during his first of two consecutive Cy Young seasons.
April 6, 2009: CC Sabathia is correctly predicted as being huge in New York, winning ALCS MVP and helping the Yankees win the 2009 World Series.
June 8, 2009: Bryce Harper graces the cover, and has gone on to have a nice career.
2010: Roy Halladay is on the cover, and Halladay wins the Cy Young, throws a perfect game and the second postseason no-hitter ever in 2010.
August 29, 2011: Nyjer Morgan, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder are on the cover. The Brewers reach the NLCS, and though a PED cloud soon emerges over Ryan Braun, not before he win MVP and Fielder finishes third in the voting.
August 27, 2012: Mike Trout is on his first cover, and he has not been affected by this cover or any other cover he's been on.
April 1, 2013: James Shields is on the cover of a Baseball Preview, saying Big Games Await James Shields and the Royals. Shields had a nice year and the Royals had a winning record in a sign of things to come in 2014 and 2015.
2015: The Royals are featured on an MLB Preview Issue. The Royals break through to win the World Series and one of the cover subjects, Salvador Perez, wins World Series MVP.
May 15, 2017: Aaron Judge is on the cover en route to a record-breaking 52 home runs as a rookie, Rookie of the Year and finishes second in the A.L. MVP race.
February 28, 2019: Jacob deGrom is featured on a Fantasy Baseball Issue, with the advice to grab him if you can. deGrom wins his second straight N.L. Cy Young this season.
Basketball
December 1, 1975: Kent Benson is featured the first of two times during Indiana's undefeated season, which ends in a National Championship and Benson being named Most Outstanding Player.
November 1, 1982: Moses Malone is featured as a newcomer for the Sixers. Malone wins his second straight MVP, the Sixers win the championship and Malone is MVP of the NBA Finals.
October 31, 1983: Rookie Ralph Sampson is on the cover. Sampson wins Rookie of the Year and goes on to a Hall of Fame career.
May 20, 1985: Patrick Ewing makes the cover for the first time in a Knicks uniform, and goes on to a Hall of Fame career in New York.
June 10, 1985: Kareem is on the cover - Going Great at 38. He would win Finals MVP as the Lakers won the championship.
1986: David Robinson is on the cover of the College Basketball issue. Robinson would be the No. 1 pick of the 1987 NBA Draft en route to his Hall of Fame career.
April 18, 1988: The Lakers are on the cover prior to repeating as NBA Champions.
November 11, 1996: Shaq, Kareem and George Mikan are on the cover, with SI asking if Shaq can reach the championship heights with the Lakers that Kareem and Mikan did. We would later find out the answer to that question was yes.
June 25, 2001: After repeating against Philly, Shaq and Kobe are on the cover, posing the question where the two go from here. They pulled off a Three-Peat the next year.
February 18, 2002: Dubbed the Chosen One, LeBron makes his first cover, and is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time.
2003: Diana Taurasi and Emeka Okafor are both featured on the College Basketball preview for the 2003-04. Not only does UConn's Men's and Women's Teams both win the National Championship, both Taurasi and Okafor win Most Outstanding Player.
March 21, 2016: Breanna Stewart is on the cover prior to winning another Most Outstanding Player Award and National Championship at UConn.
January 9, 2017: Giannis is featured as a Buck to build around. Two MVPs later, this has definitely been the case, he just needs more help.
Football
September 10, 1962: Jim Taylor of the Packers is highlighted on the cover. Taylor would win NFL MVP, and the Packers their second straight NFL Championship this season.
October 2, 1972: Greg Pruitt is highlighted with the description Unlimited Talent. Pruitt was second in Heisman Trophy voting, was named to five Pro Bowls in his NFL career and is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
September 9, 1974: Archie Griffin is featured on the cover, and would go on to become currently the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner.
September 13, 1976: Bert Jones is featured on the cover of the Pro Football Issue. He would go on to win the MVP in this season.
September 10, 1979: USC's Charles White and Oklahoma's Billy Sims are featured on the cover fighting over the Heisman Trophy. It says Charles White of USC Wants the Trophy. Billy Sims of Oklahoma Has One - And Wants Another. White and Sims would finish first and second in Heisman voting, respectively, this season.
September 22, 1980: Pride of the Lions, Billy Sims is advertised as Detroit's Super Rookie. Sims would win Rookie of the Year, and in my opinion, he was on his way to a Hall of Fame career before injuries.
September 29, 1986: Lawrence Taylor and Mark Gastineau are featured on the cover with the caption In the Big Apple, the Jets Are Always Second Banana. Taylor would win his third Defensive Player of the Year Award and also won the NFL MVP this season.
January 26, 1987: LT is again featured on the cover in the Super Bowl preview highlighting Paul Zimmerman's pick of the Giants over the Broncos in Super Bowl XXI. The Giants would win the game.
August 31, 1987: Tim Brown is front and center on SI's College Football Preview, highlighted as the best player in the land. Brown won the Heisman this season.
October 24, 1988: Notre Dame Quarterback Tony Rice is featured the first of three times on the cover this season. This highlights Notre Dame Is Back! Rice would quarterback Notre Dame to the National Championship in 1988.
January 28, 1991: Ottis Anderson of the Giants graces the cover in SI's Super Bowl preview. Not only do the Giants beat the Bills in Super Bowl XXV, but Anderson is named MVP of the game.
September 23, 1991: Desmond Howard makes his first of two cover appearances during his Heisman winning season. The other correctly called him a cinch for the award.
January 20, 1997: Following Green Bay's win over Carolina in the NFC Championship Game, Antonio Freeman is highlighted with the caption Antonio Freeman and the Packers look unstoppable. Freeman would catch an 81-yard touchdown pass in Green Bay's Super Bowl XXXI victory over New England.
January 27, 1997: Brett Favre and Mike Holmgren grace the cover in a Super Bowl XXXI Preview, another Packers cover before their Super Bowl win.
November 5, 2012: On his first cover, JJ Watt goes on to win his first of three Defensive Player of the Year Awards.
November 19, 2018: Patrick Mahomes is featured on the Future Issue. Mahomes would win NFL MVP, help the Chiefs to their first of currently three straight AFC title game appearances. He would win Super Bowl MVP the next year, and made it back to the Super Bowl this year.
May 2020: DeAndre Hopkins is featured on the cover after the trade from the Texans. The trade was disastrous for Houston in 2020, while Hopkins had another fine year in his first season in Arizona.
October 2020: TJ Watt is on the cover. Watt is advertised as the NFL's best strip sacker. He leads the NFL in sacks, and arguably should've been named Defensive Player of the Year.
Hockey
May 4, 1970: Bobby Orr is on the cover during the Stanley Cup Finals that ended with Orr scoring one of the most famous goals of all time.
February 2, 1977: Guy LaFleur is on the cover at the height of his success and another Montreal dynasty.
October 12, 1981: Hailed as the best player in the NHL, Wayne Gretzky makes his first appearance on the heels of record setting 212 point season.
February 6, 1989: As Great As Gretzky? Most will consider the Great One the greatest, but Mario Lemieux was special.
June 13, 1994: Mark Messier is on the cover during the Stanley Cup Finals, as the Rangers successfully chased that elusive Stanley Cup.
March 18, 2013: Hailed as the franchise that brought hockey back, the Blackhawks won the Presidents' Trophy and the Stanley Cup.
Boxing
June 16, 1980: Roberto Duran is on the cover shortly before his split decision win over Sugar Ray Leonard in Montreal.
October 18, 1982: Considered the Best and the Baddest, Marvin Hagler would hold his Middleweight Championship until 1987.
January 6, 1986: Mike Tyson's Kid Dynamite cover, his first at age 19, he was billed as the Next Great Heavyweight. I think he lived up to that billing.
September 8, 1986: SI previews Sugar Ray Leonard's fight with Marvelous Marvin Hagler, which Leonard won.
Running
October 30, 1978: Bill Rodgers is on the cover after a win in the New York Marathon that he would win yet again the next year.
Wrestling
April 29, 1985: The only wrestler to be featured on the cover, Hulk Hogan has become synonymous with the sport, with success before and after this cover. He's been in the news for negative reasons in recent years, but he's had a prosperous life.
Neither An Affirmation Nor a Contradiction to the Jinx
Baseball
October 6, 1986: Darryl Strawberry graces the cover asking if the Mets are as good as their record. The Mets would go on to win the World Series, but Strawberry didn't have a great postseason.
August 10, 1998: Randy Johnson is on the cover after the Astros traded for him. They didn't make the NLCS, let alone the World Series, in 1998, but he was fantastic down the stretch for them.
March 27, 2000: SI predicts the Red Sox to win the World Series with Pedro on the cover. Obviously, the Red Sox didn't win this season, but Pedro had one of the best seasons ever by a pitcher.
March 15, 2010: Matt Wieters is featured on the cover, as he was one of baseball's top prospects. Wieters wouldn't necessarily live up to the hype, but has had a nice career as a four-time All Star and two-time Gold Glover.
2015: Max Scherzer and Bryce Harper are on the cover hyping the Nationals, who finish the season in ugly fashion, but both Harper and Scherzer had nice years.
Basketball
March 21, 1994: Bill Clinton is on the cover. This is not meant to turn into a political discussion, but since he's on the cover, I consider him fair game. He's decked out in Arkansas gear, and the Razorbacks won the National Championship. The 1994 midterms were a disaster for Clinton. He would recover to be re-elected in 1996, but the Lewinsky scandal in the late 1990s was not a proud moment.
Football
September 5, 1983: Mike Rozier is featured on the cover with the caption - Oh, Those Huskers! Nebraska would lose to Miami in its bid for a national championship. However, Rozier did win the Heisman Trophy that season.
February 1, 1999: Shannon Sharpe is featured on the cover of SI's Super Bowl Preview ahead of Super Bowl XXXIII. Sharpe did not have a noteworthy game, but the Broncos did repeat as Super Bowl Champions.