De'Anthony Thomas and Five Other Oregon Ducks on SI Covers
Can Fastest Man in Football Outrun SI Cover Jinx?
By Harold Andrews | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 22 hours agohttp://sports.yahoo.com/news/deanthony-thomas-five-other-oregon-ducks-si-covers-163000205--nfl.html
De'Anthony Thomas is featured on the cover of the September 24, 2012 issue of Sports Illustrated, as "The Fastest Man In Football".There is a common belief (myth or reality) that SI cover appearances can be a jinx, leading to future failure. This is a brief review of five other Oregon Ducks football players, and what happened to them after their Sports Illustrated cover appearances.
Akili Smith, April 19, 1999: Smith only played one season at Oregon, as a senior quarterback in 1998. His 32 touchdown passes in 11 games were enough to make him a potential #1 pick in the 1999 NFL Draft. The SI cover asks whether the Cleveland Browns should make Smith, or Tim Couch (Kentucky) the #1 overall pick. The two players, plus a Browns' fan, are shown in Cleveland jerseys. Drafted #3 overall by Cincinnati, Akili Smith was a bust, starting 17 games in four years and completing only five touchdown passes. Jinxed?
Joey Harrington, August 13, 2001: SI's annual College Football Preview Issue featured Harrington in the foreground and Ken Simonton (Oregon State) in the background, with the headline "State of War". Harrington capped his career at Oregon throwing for 350 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-16 victory over Colorado in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl, and finished fourth in voting for the Heisman Trophy. Like Smith before him, he was the #3 overall pick in the NFL Draft (Detroit, 2002). In four seasons as the Lions' QB, Harrington was intercepted 62 times, including 22 (most in the NFL) in the 2003 season. Released by Detroit, he played two more seasons, one each with Miami and Atlanta, but finished his NFL career with 26 wins, 50 losses, 85 interceptions against 79 touchdowns. Professional Jinx?
Jason Fife, September 29, 2003: Fife followed Harrington as the Ducks starting quarterback in 2002 and was ranked as the #2 QB in the nation. His SI cover followed an upset win over the Michigan Wolverines, which moved Oregon up to #10 in the national rankings with a 4-0 record. The Ducks promptly lost their next three games in a row. Fife was reduced to sharing the QB position the following season, went undrafted by the NFL in 2004, is listed as a member of the New Orleans Saints in 2006 with no NFL game appearances. Double Jinx?
Jeremiah Masoli, August 18, 2009: Masoli came to as a junior college transfer in 2008 and moved from third string to started as injuries hit the Ducks hard at quarterback. He appeared with the Ducks' center, Jordan Holmes, on the annual College Football Preview issue, which listed Oregon as #11 in the country. In 2009 Masoli had a stellar season, leading the Ducks to the Pac-10 championship, finishing in a 26-17 loss to Ohio State in the 2010 Rose Bowl. Less than a year after his Sports Illustrated cover, Masoli was dismissed from the Oregon program due to off-field activities. He went on to play for Mississippi, and is in the Canadian Football League. Jinxed?
LaMichael James, December 13, 2010: Anyone who is even a casual fan of Oregon football knows LaMichael James, and would call his career a success. Oregon's career rushing leader, 2010 Doak Walker Award winner and #3 in the Heisman voting, 2011 Pac-12 Championship Game MVP, are but a few of his accomplishments. In 2012 LaMichael James is a rookie with the San Francisco 49ers. The Sports Illustrated cover appeared just prior to the playing of the 2011 BCS National Championship Game, which Oregon (and LaMichael James) lost 22-19 to Auburn (and Cam Newton). BCS Jinx?
Can the "Fastest Man in Football" outrun the Sports Illustrated cover jinx? I sure hope so.
Harold Andrews has been a fan of the Oregon Ducks for nearly 50 years, through the good and the bad. He gets excited every time De'Anthony touches the ball.
sources:
sportsillustrated.cnn.com
goducks.com
nfl.com
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