You’ve heard of the announcer jinx, but do you know about the studio panel jinx? The Philadelphia Eagles were the recipients of that on Sunday when every single NFL analyst on Fox picked them to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.
In what was a hard-fought and exciting game until an extremely suspect penalty call, the Chiefs erased a 24-14 halftime deficit to defeat the Eagles 38-35 for their second Super Bowl victory in four years. While both Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes pulled out all the stops, Kansas City ended up having the ball at the right time and was able to secure the victory with a 27-yard Harrison Butker field goal.
Obviously, that’s a bummer for anyone who put money on the Eagles but it’s an extra bummer for anyone who only did so after everyone on the NFL on Fox panel said they expected Philadelphia to win.
Everyone on the studio show, including Jimmy Johnson, Michael Strahan, Howie Long, and Terry Bradshaw, picked Philly to win. To be fair, they all seemed to realize they were tempting fate by doing so.
“I should switch right now,” said Bradshaw. “I’m picking the Eagles but I don’t want to now.”
“You know what that means, load up on Kansas City,” added Curt Menafee, who was correct.
It’s also worth noting that Sean Payton and Rob Gronkowski also picked the Eagles to beat the Chiefs to make this a true sweep.
It’s just one more case of a media outlet’s unanimous predictions going wrong. Be wary the next time it happens.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.