The Drake Curse is real, and it may be time for Kentucky to find a new superfan

by:Jack Pilgrim•01/08/19
Rap superstar and pop culture icon Drake has been around the Kentucky basketball program since 2012, with the Toronto, ON native claiming the status as the No. 1 Wildcat superfan. He has come to games, coached the UK Alumni Game, took jumpers in the layup line at Big Blue Madness, released shoes dedicated to John Calipari and the Wildcats, wears Kentucky gear regularly, and sports the jerseys of former Wildcats in music videos. He even promised University of Kentucky students a free concert at Rupp Arena at some point. (The students are still waiting for that, by the way) Seeing him around the program over the years has been fun, and it's certainly added to the "cool" factor Coach Cal brought back to Lexington in 2009. Like they do with most of his work, recruits have been rapping "I rock Kentucky blue," "I need a girl from Kentucky," and "Louisville hush money for my young gunners, Rick Pitino" since the songs were released. But Drake's fandom comes at a cost... Teams with alliances to the rap star suffer what is known as the "Drake Curse," and last night proved it's very, very real. Last week, the three-time Grammy winner posted a video of himself wearing an Alabama sweatshirt. Alabama's next game? A 44-16 beatdown in the College Football Playoff championship against Clemson for the team's second title game loss in three years. Beyond the Crimson Tide, ESPN took a trip down memory lane covering other Drake-supported individuals/teams, and the results don't look too great for the other parties involved.
  • With Drake sitting courtside year after year, the Toronto Raptors have not had any appearances in the NBA Finals. In fact, the Raptors have made the Eastern Conference Finals just once in five consecutive playoff appearances, falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-2 in the ECF back in 2015-16.
  • Right before the much-anticipated UFC fight between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, Drake posted a picture with "The Notorious Mystic Mac." McGregor lost via submission in a dominant victory for Khabib.
  • And worst of all, with Drake being Kentucky's No. 1 superfan since mid-2012, the Wildcats have failed to win a national title. They have gone to two Final Fours and one Elite Eight since, but the Wildcats have not been able to break through that barrier to bring home another title.
Kendrick Lamar? Chance the Rapper? Travis Scott? Lil Wayne? Childish Gambino? Anybody works, really. I like being Drake's go-to school, but for the sake of title banners and championship rings, making the ultimate sacrifice might be necessary. [mobile_ad]

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