Most Iowa players remain unconvinced
Most of the members of the Iowa football team had never heard of the Sports Illustrated jinx.
And they didn't even know until Tuesday afternoon, when reporters began asking about it, that they are on the cover of the Midwest edition of SI this week.
"It's something you dream about growing up as a kid, being on this kind of team and being on the cover of Sports Illustrated," guard Julian Vandervelde said. "I didn't even know about it until now. That shows we've stayed pretty focused as a team."
Coach Kirk Ferentz expressed surprise that his team was featured on the cover.
"Isn't the World Series going on right now?" he asked.
While Ferentz is aware that teams and individuals on the cover of SI sometimes are considered to be cursed, his players knew nothing about that.
"Is that like the Madden jinx?" Vandervelde asked.
"I don't believe in that kind of stuff anyway," offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga added. "If you lose, you lose. It's not because you're on the cover of some magazine."
The cover photo shows wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos scampering for a touchdown in last Saturday's 42-24 victory over Indiana.
"He's probably going to have that up all over the place now," linebacker Pat Angerer said.