Barry on Buffalo

Thanks to my blogger brother, Rockbill, I was referred to the Sports Illustrated website (www.si.com), to take a look at the entire archive of past issues.   Growing up in the 60s and 70s, getting the weekly issue of Sports Illustrated, which was usually an annual family Christmas gift, was really something to look forward to.  Don’t forget, it was a world without the internet, without cable TV, and especially without this very informative blog, that you have relied so heavy upon for cutting edge information.  We only got 4 local stations (including PBS) until 1970 when Channel 29 was added. I remember running home from elementary school to watch the first show, a cartoon of some sort, I believe.  Those of you who know me, know that I don’t run for many things, so it must have been a big deal at the time, but I digress…

Getting back to SI, it was great to see some of those great old covers.   I’m sure many of you are aware of the so-called SI Cover Curse, where getting your picture on the cover of SI, often means instant celebrity only to be followed by extreme bad luck, or a big loss, or a decline in performance, or a season ending injury.  SI itself even did a story on “the curse” in 2002 resulting in the conclusion that it could neither prove or dis-prove the Jinx Theory, as there were numerous examples of featured cover stars that were soon after “cursed”.   I decided to research the past covers for Buffalo connections, to determine if those covers revealed any pattern of curses, jinxes or bad luck.  Many Buffalonians feel that our city has truly been cursed in the sports world, considering “Wide Right”, “No Goal”, “The Staph Infection” and of course, OJ, our most notable pro sports figure.

Let’s start with OJ, who has adorned the cover more than any other Buffalo athlete, appearing five times: July 1969, August 1969, October 1973, September 1974, and finally in October 1990.  The first ’69 issue centered around the fact that he could afford to hold out until he got the rookie contract that he thought he deserved, and a month later, after his first preseason game (wearing #36), indicating that it appeared he was worth the big contract.  ’73 highlights his attempt to break the rushing record while ’74’s Pro Football Preview issue celebrates his 2,003 yard record breaking accomplishment.  I’d have to say at this point it appears that there is no curse, no jinx, as he ascends to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  The ’90 issue, well after his storied career had come to an end, questions why no running backs can perform like my boyhood hero  did.  Well, SI apparently went to the well once too often, as we all know the rest of the story and the “curse”, that was not placed on OJ, but on his two innocent victims and their families. 

Garfield Heard and Bob McAdoo, from our beloved NBA Buffalo Braves, appeared in April 1975 and March 1976, respectively.  While the “jinx” surely didn’t hit these athletes individually, it saved it’s wrath for our entire city, in 1978, when greedy owners shuffled our team to San Diego, renamed them the Clippers and the pest of a curse continues to follow that franchise to this day.

 The Super Bowl Years gave us Bruce Smith in September 1991, the Big Bad Bills in December 1991 and Thurman Thomas and the Super Bills in January 1992.   Well bad things come in threes and these three issues preceded Super Bowl Losses II, III and IV (can you say curse, curser, cursest). 

Three issues (December 1966, January 1981 and December 2000) covering a 34 year span feature covers that show running backs shredding Buffalo defenses. Wow, does that mean we’re up to 42 years of weak run defense now?

Our only Sabre  to grace the cover was our beloved #11 Gilbert Perreault in February 1973.  All I can say is, “Have we won a Stanley Cup since this issue?”  Doug Flutie led the Bills charge in November 1998, solidifying his loss of the QB job to our old underachieving pal Rob Johnson.  Sam Adams and Drew Bledsoe’s Bills appeared in September 2003.  It is in these years that the curse actually took a human form and called itself Tom Donohoe.

Two covers feature Buffalo athletes who faced their personal challenges before their cover pictures appeared.  Bob Kalsu, a Bills tackle who was killed in Viet Nam, was honored in July 2001 and Kevin Everett’s courageous battle was featured in the December 2007 issues. 

I think the curse has taken it’s toll but let’s hope that the most recent cover featuring Everett’s and others tremendous efforts to “beat the odds” in his tragedy will begin the trend toward positive results for our  sports franchises.

I’ll continue to look forward to any cover until it features the Toronto Bills, then I’ll just limit my purchase to the swimsuit issue (for the articles,of course).