Has Taylor Swift cursed the NBA playoffs? Some fans believe so.
While it might seem like a far-fetched conspiracy theory, there has been a notable trend of NBA teams losing when Swift's Eras Tour stopped at their city.
As The Washington Post reported, when Swift arrived in Atlanta, the Hawks lost their series to the Celtics. When she performed in Philadelphia in May, the 76ers lost the series, also to the Celtics.
Celtics fan Matt Moses, 24, first highlighted the trend on Reddit, calling Swift "the key to the Eastern Conference matchups this year."
Moses hoped that his theory was baseless when his team played Miami Heat in Boston for three nights last month — the same weekend that Swift had her Boston shows. The Miami Heat beat the Celtics in two games that same weekend.
Some fans have taken it a step further and suggested teams in cities Swift has visited or will visit during her tour are also doomed.
The Phoenix Suns were knocked out of the semifinals two months after Swift opened her tour in nearby Glendale in March. The Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers were both wiped before Swift's tour dates in California in July and August.
Now all eyes are on the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals. Swift did not stop in Miami and some fans are betting the Heat will win. But while Swift is heading to Denver in July, Moses believes the Nuggets still have a shot.
"I think Taylor Swift barely spared them by saving the date until after the game," Moses said. "So I think they'll be saved from the curse, but I hope this doesn't jinx it."
Don Saucier, a psychological sciences professor at Kansas State University, dismissed the theory.
"We always want to find patterns because we want to be able to predict behavior, decrease anxiety, and find some measure of control," Saucier said. "And that's what a superstition is — believing a pattern has some impact even though it doesn't. But it's enough to make us feel better and in control."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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