As I recall from reading that article, they concluded that while 37% of cover athletes see a downturn or “jinx” after appearing on the cover, this is to be expected in a sport where outcomes are not controlled.

In other words, sometimes even good players lose. Is winning 63% of the time all that bad? And the truly bad results, such as Giamatti’s death or the skier’s accident are even rarer. Most often a player gets on the cover during a playoff run, only to lose the championship.

Well, someone has to lose the championship game, right? And that’s basically an either/or proposition, so a cover athlete winning 63% of the time is much better than 50-50.

The Jinx is a myth, a very good one, but still a myth.

I only got 40%, but I enjoyed it anyway.