The Sports Illustrated Jinx is a myth that states that individuals or teams who appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated magazine will subsequently experience bad luck.
While the list of "examples" of the jinx may be extensive, an individual record 49 cover appearances by Michael Jordan did not hinder his success. Similarly, Vince Young also overcame the Sport Illustrated jinx by appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated twice during Texas' National Championship season.
SI addressed their own opinions on the "alleged" cover jinx in a 2002 issue that featured a black cat on the cover.
The most common explanation for the perceived effect is that athletes are generally featured on the cover at the pinnacle of their careers, so future performance is likely to be less impressive by comparison. This decline in performance would then be perceived as being related to, or even possibly caused by, the appearance on the magazine cover. This perceived correlation would be present for a statistically significant number of featured athletes. This effect is related to the statistical phenomenon of regression toward the mean.
This explanation does not apply to rookies or others who are featured relatively early in their careers.
Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx. (2008, December 31). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19:12, January 17, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sports_Illustrated_Cover_Jinx&oldid=260988656
