Celebrity fans bring about some of the coolest stories in sports. From acclaimed film director Spike Lee's boisterous, courtside presence for the New York Knicks to Matthew McConaughey's love for the Texas Longhorns, even the most famous fans have die-hard allegiances.
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Then, you have fans like world-renowned rapper Drake. When he's not busy making waves on the international music scene, Drake is a huge fan of basketball royalty from across the sports world. Most consider him the ultimate bandwagon fan, though, and he has an ugly history with cursing sports teams he suddenly decides to like.
The Toronto, Ontario-born superstar and three-time Grammy Award winner has a history of following a teams and players throughout the years, only to see them flop immediately afterwards, and sports fans claiming it was entirely Drake's fault.
Toronto Raptors (1995-Present)
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The Canadian-born basketball fan is the global ambassador on the sidelines at Toronto's NBA games. The problem is, the Raptors have yet to survive the Eastern Conference playoffs and appear in the NBA Finals in their franchise's history. Could the "6 God's" first appearance with his So Far Gone mixtape back in 2009 only extend the drought?
Kentucky Wildcats (2013-Present)
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Despite being one of the country's elite programs year after year, the last time the Wildcats and head coach John Calipari won a national championship was in 2012, and they've made four Final Four appearances since 2011. Drake called out his allegiance to the UK program in a 2015 song by saying, "I rock Kentucky blue." Drake even showed up at Kentucky's Big Blue Madness in 2017, and the drought is officially on.
Miami Heat (2013)
After the LeBron James and the Miami Heat won the 2013 NBA Finals over the San Antonio Spurs, Drake was seen trying to infiltrate the Heat locker room to celebrate with the team. After supporting them publicly, Drake's appearance triggered the end of a dynasty. The next season, Miami would lose to the Spurs, and then LeBron James left for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Coincidence?
Johnny Manziel (2014)
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Leading up to the 2014 NFL Draft, Drake released a track titled Draft Day, and the first line in that song was "Draft Day, Johnny Manziel." After becoming a first-round pick by the Cleveland Browns a few months later, Johnny Football's professional career collapsed. Many attribute his issues with substance abuse to it, but Drake putting the young kid from Texas A&M on a pedestal certainly didn't help Manziel's case.
Serena Williams (2015)
Drake at the Serena vs. Vinci US Open match. pic.twitter.com/YK8VsBda7E
— Steve Noah (@Steve_OS) September 11, 2015
While dating rumors swirled between Drake and tennis player Serena Williams, the rapper turned up at the 2015 U.S. Open semifinals where the top-seeded Grand Slam champion lost to Roberta Vinci in a stunning upset despite being the heavy favorite. Social media started the #BlameDrake campaign saying that he caused a distraction and ultimately her loss.
Conor McGregor (2018)
Prior to UFC fighter Conor McGregor's fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov in October of last year, the Irish superstar brought out Drake during the fight's weigh-in. Once again, many blamed Drake for being there and bestowing "The Drake Curse" on McGregor, who would lose that fight via submission in the fourth round of UFC 229.
Alabama Crimson Tide (2019)
Get your mind right!
Motivation from - @Drake repping Bama!#OutworkYesterday#RollTide pic.twitter.com/Pv0nK6JEjt— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) January 3, 2019
In a video posted to his Instagram, Drizzy was referencing the cliche New Year's resolution of "working hard every day." However, he was noticeably wearing the familiar crimson lettering of the University of Alabama across his chest just few days before they played the Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoff national championship game.
Head coach Nick Saban and star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa weren't able to save the Crimson Tide and win the 2019 CFP national title, proving once again, that the Drake Sports Curse is alive and well.
Paris Saint-Germain (2019)
2019 has not been a great year for the "global ambassador." First, Drake took a photo with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, then his Arsenal club lost a 1-0 shocker to Everton. He also cursed Crystal Palace in the English Premier League. Still, Drake was far from done.
Just days before PSG, a French soccer club considered one of Europe's best teams, took on Lille with a chance to clinch France's Ligue I, Drake took a photo with PSG's Layvin Kurzawa. Since then, the club suffered their worst loss in five years and dropped back-to-back league games for the first time all year. It's so bad that AS Roma jokingly banned all Roma players from taking pictures with Drake until the end of the season...
Toronto Maple Leafs (2019)
Canada has two national sports: ice hockey and lacrosse (who knew?). Almost every Canadian is born with a hockey stick in their hands. Even Drake, who played for the Weston Red Wings as a youth, grew up a Leafs fan in the great hockey city of Toronto.
However, he brought his bad luck with him to Scotiabank Arena. The sold out crowd watch their Toronto Maple Leafs lose Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, 6-4. The NHL playoff series shifted back to Boston tied 2-2, and the Leafs' chances of advancing grew slimmer when The Drake Curse finally decided to show up...
