Super Bowl curse

The Super Bowl curse is a phrase that refers to phenomena that may occur in the National Football League (NFL) where the team whose stadium will host the upcoming Super Bowl either misses the playoffs or suffers early postseason elimination.

No Super Bowl host team had managed to reach the title game until the 2020 season, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers played in Super Bowl LV and won at their home stadium. The next year, the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in a home game during Super Bowl LVI.[1][2]

Super Bowl champions rarely win consecutive Super Bowls, compared to other professional sports leagues such as Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League.

The team that loses the Super Bowl often has a less successful following season and may miss the playoffs.

The term was first used around 1992, when The Washington Post used the term in print.[3] Former NFL General Manager Charley Casserly attributed the curse to such factors as "a shorter offseason (five weeks shorter than the 18 teams that failed to make the playoffs), contract problems, [and] more demand for your players' time".[4] Casserly also noted that "once the season starts, you become the biggest game on everybody's schedule," suggesting that pressure from fans and spectators may also affect a team's performance.[4]

  1. ^ Shook, Nick (January 24, 2021). "Buccaneers become first team that will host Super Bowl at home stadium". NFL.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  2. ^ Kerr, Jeff (January 24, 2021). "Buccaneers become first team to play Super Bowl in home stadium; first team to host NFL title game since 1966". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  3. ^ Boswell, Thomas (September 21, 1992). "A Curse but not yet a sin". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Gruber, Jack (February 6, 2007). "Champions, for now — Super Bowl curse could vex Colts, Bears". USA Today. Retrieved April 19, 2008.