{"id":6819,"date":"2019-04-18T14:16:42","date_gmt":"2019-04-18T14:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blnebeuk.serveur04.com\/blog\/?p=6819"},"modified":"2019-05-17T11:37:12","modified_gmt":"2019-05-17T11:37:12","slug":"the-curse-of-drake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.netbet.co.uk\/blog\/2019\/04\/18\/the-curse-of-drake\/","title":{"rendered":"The Curse Of… Drake?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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There is a great deal of superstition in sport. Kevin Keegan, for example, had to be the last guy in his kit before going onto the pitch before a game. He\u2019d hang around in the dressing room without a shirt on until the rest of the team were ready and would often be seen dressing in the tunnel on the way out. Gary Lineker used to change his shirt at half time if he hadn\u2019t scored a goal yet, and Cristiano Ronaldo used to change his hairstyle at half time (though whether this was down to tradition or savvy marketing, we\u2019ll never know for sure). Giovanni Trapattoni, the former Italian national coach, used to carry holy water with him which had been blessed by his sister, a nun. And in Portugal, thousands of Benfica fans gather before every season to watch Vit\u00f3ria, the club\u2019s pest control eagle and mascot. If Vit\u00f3ria flies around the stadium<\/a> and then lands on her perch, this bodes well for the coming season.<\/p>\n

If people believe in good luck, it\u2019s possible that they believe in bad luck even more. There are as many stories of sporting curses as there are good luck traditions. There\u2019s the \u2018Curse of the Bambino\u2019, which affected the Boston Red Sox baseball team. In 1919, then-owner Harry Frazee sold the great Babe Ruth to rivals, the New York Yankees. While the Yankees had great success, it was 86 years<\/a> before the Red Sox won the World Series again. In snooker, the \u2018Crucible Curse\u2019 is whispered of \u2013 the fact that no first-time winner of the World Snooker Championship has ever successfully defended their title since the event was first held there in 1977 (there have been 17 champions in that time).<\/p>\n

So when we hear of a new curse, one that transcends the boundaries of one sport and begins to affect others, we have to sit up and take notice. We\u2019re just surprised to learn that this one involves US and Canadian RnB sensation, Drake. It certainly seems to be serious: Italian team AS Roma have banned their players from having their photo taken with the star for the rest of the season. This stems from an unfortunate series of events beginning in Manchester.<\/p>\n

After playing the Manchester Arena on 15th<\/sup> March, Drake posed for a picture with Paul Pogba. Five days later, United lost to Wolves and went out of the FA Cup. Unfortunate, but not really evidence of the supernatural. However, a pattern began to emerge. \u00a0Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang took a snap with the singer on 2nd<\/sup> April. Again, five days later, his team were beaten 1-0 by Everton. Sergio Aguero posed for a selfie, but then missed a penalty in Man City\u2019s 1-0 loss to Spurs. The problem has spread to the continent, first with Borussia Dortmund\u2019s Jadon Sancho (his team lost 5-0 to Bayern Munich) and then PSG\u2019s Layvin Kurzawa (who lost 5-1 to Lille, their biggest defeat in 19 years). While these devastating events have proved a shock to European football fans, sports fans in the USA have long since learned to be wary of the Hotline Bling<\/a><\/em> singer.<\/p>\n

On top of all his various football footballing victims, none could be more gutting than his photo with Manchester City superstar Kevin De Bruyne on the day of City’s Champions League game against Spurs. De Bruyne went on to tear Spurs apart, only for his team to be knocked out on the away goal rule.<\/p>\n

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