Headlines and heartaches
The 'SI curse' strikes Hawkeye football
Tyler Loring
Issue date: 11/12/09 Section: Sports
Being on the cover of Sports Illustrated is an honor for any team or player, but in certain situations people or groups would rather not be the feature story for Sports Illustrated.
The University of Iowa football team was featured on the cover of the Nov. 9 issue in a regional market. The cover headline read "Still Perfect," although according to the Big Ten standings on Nov. 9, Iowa was not perfect anymore.
According to www.si.com, of the 2,456 covers only 913 were found to be jinxes, most of them being golf and tennis players.
Another example of this curse was back in November 2006 when the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team was featured on the cover of the men's basketball preview on Sports Illustrated, when the team was ranked preseason No. 1. Kansas lost to Oral Roberts at home in the first game of the season.
The Iowa football team was cruising along this season with the first 9-0 start in program history and then Sports Illustrated came calling.
Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, junior wide receiver, is pictured leaping over sophomore fullback Wade Leppert on a kick return in Iowa's 42-24 victory over Indiana.
Although Iowa has not been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated for almost 25 years, Iowa has some history on the cover.
Back in the mid-1950s, Iowa offensive lineman Cal Jones was featured, becoming the first college football player as well as the first African-American athlete on the cover of the magazine.
The last Iowa player featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated was Chuck Long in 1985. Iowa lost to UCLA in the Rose Bowl later that season.
Receiving the publicity that results from being on the cover of Sports Illustrated is important to the Iowa football program on some levels such as popularity for recruits not in the area.
There are also perfect seasons that can be ruined. Not only did Iowa lose a home game to Northwestern, it lost junior quarterback Ricky Stanzi for the remainder of the regular season because of an ankle injury.
Iowa was on its way to winning the Big Ten championship for the first time since it shared the title with Michigan in 2004, and its first outright Big Ten championship since 1985, and the all of that has seemingly been taken away from Iowa fans with the decision that Sports Illustrated made for the cover.
The University of Iowa football team was featured on the cover of the Nov. 9 issue in a regional market. The cover headline read "Still Perfect," although according to the Big Ten standings on Nov. 9, Iowa was not perfect anymore.
According to www.si.com, of the 2,456 covers only 913 were found to be jinxes, most of them being golf and tennis players.
Another example of this curse was back in November 2006 when the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team was featured on the cover of the men's basketball preview on Sports Illustrated, when the team was ranked preseason No. 1. Kansas lost to Oral Roberts at home in the first game of the season.
The Iowa football team was cruising along this season with the first 9-0 start in program history and then Sports Illustrated came calling.
Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, junior wide receiver, is pictured leaping over sophomore fullback Wade Leppert on a kick return in Iowa's 42-24 victory over Indiana.
Although Iowa has not been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated for almost 25 years, Iowa has some history on the cover.
Back in the mid-1950s, Iowa offensive lineman Cal Jones was featured, becoming the first college football player as well as the first African-American athlete on the cover of the magazine.
The last Iowa player featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated was Chuck Long in 1985. Iowa lost to UCLA in the Rose Bowl later that season.
Receiving the publicity that results from being on the cover of Sports Illustrated is important to the Iowa football program on some levels such as popularity for recruits not in the area.
There are also perfect seasons that can be ruined. Not only did Iowa lose a home game to Northwestern, it lost junior quarterback Ricky Stanzi for the remainder of the regular season because of an ankle injury.
Iowa was on its way to winning the Big Ten championship for the first time since it shared the title with Michigan in 2004, and its first outright Big Ten championship since 1985, and the all of that has seemingly been taken away from Iowa fans with the decision that Sports Illustrated made for the cover.
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