The Drake Curse: Athletes' Brush with Misfortune

The "Drake Curse" has become a subject of intrigue among sports enthusiasts. This peculiar phenomenon suggests that athletes who pose for photographs with the renowned rapper tend to face personal challenges or even experience their teams suffering defeats shortly after.

The Genesis of the Curse

While the exact origin remains uncertain, the curse is commonly believed to have begun in 2013 when Drake became an ambassador for the NBA team "Toronto." Before his affiliation, the Canadian team, established in 1995, had a modest record (no titles or conference wins). However, with Drake on board, they transformed into the league's perennial underachievers.

Over the past five years, Toronto's narrative has followed a familiar script: commendable regular-season performance, high playoff seeding, and then an ignominious exit, often in the early stages or at the hands of LeBron James' team ("LeBronto" even became a meme last year).

The Curse in Action

The instances of the Drake Curse are as intriguing as they are numerous:

1. Sergio Agüero shared a photo with Drake on March 11. While Agüero continued scoring, he missed two penalties within a month, one of which was in the crucial Champions League quarter-final against Tottenham (0-1). This blunder proved costly as "City" was eliminated due to the away goal rule.

2. On the same day, Jadon Sancho took a picture with Drake. "Borussia" didn't lose the next match but suffered a humiliating 0-5 defeat against "Bayern" in early April, a pivotal game of the season.

3. On April 2, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang attended Drake's concert in London. In the subsequent Premier League fixture, "Arsenal" lost to "Everton" (0-1).

4. Finally, the most vivid example comes from Layvin Kurzawa who shared a photo with Drake on April 12. In the following match, "PSG" could have secured another title, but were crushed by "Lille" with a scoreline of 1-5.

Team Reactions

In response to the curse, some clubs have taken precautions. "Roma" prohibited its players from taking photos with the rapper for the remainder of the season. "Manchester United" crossed their fingers before the match against "Barcelona," and "Cannes" and "Nice" engaged in a playful exchange on social media, each photoshopping the other team's player into a picture with Drake.

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