Super Bowl 2023: Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes face MVP, rapper and statue curse trifecta

Superstition and statistics are two ever-present, often polarizing elements in sports. With Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles set for Sunday, data-driven fans have been quenched by NFL analysts and experts all season. It’s time to lean into the mythical.

Right now, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are facing a curse trifecta. While the AFC champions are an odds-breaking team, it never hurts to know the lore at play.

MVP Super Bowl loss streak

"Mahomes Magic" earned the 27-year-old his second MVP award Thursday night. A complete package at quarterback, Mahomes is now tasked with besting a streak that has gone unbroken since 1999. Quarterback Kurt Warner of the St. Louis Rams was the last player to win regular-season MVP and the title in the same season.

Not including Mahomes, nine MVPs since Warner have made the Super Bowl. They're 0-9 in the championship game, including three losses in a row for regular-season MVPs from 2015-17 (Cam Newton, Matt Ryan, Tom Brady).

Mahomes is no stranger to rare accomplishments, however, and joined a list of only nine others who have won multiple MVPs. The impressive roster: Jim Brown, Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Brett Favre, Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. Only Montana, Manning and Brady have multiple regular-season MVPs and also multiple Super Bowl rings as starting quarterbacks.

The Drake curse

Canadian rapper Drake revealed he’s betting $700,000 on the Chiefs in the Super Bowl in addition to other parlays totaling nearly $1 million Friday. “My psychotic bets for Sunday are in @Stake”, said Drake in his Instagram caption. “Pls do not analyze the logic behind these bets. There is none.”

For a while, the five-time Grammy award winning artist’s sports pick meant a sure defeat. Some fans believe that all Drake has to do is wear a team’s shirt, voice support or pose for a photo to ensure a loss.

Heralding former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel and ex-UFC champ Conor McGregor when they were in their primes, fans watched both hit career lows shortly after Drake's public support. He also went in for Serena Williams during 2015 U.S. Open finals and the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals. He wasn’t able to cash in on those bets either. A.S. Roma, an Italian soccer club, joked on social media in 2019 that its players were banned from taking photos with the star.

Recently, he lost $850K with a bet on the San Francisco 49ers over the Eagles in the NFC championship. Had he won that, it would have netted him $1.9 million.

That aside, Drake seems to have his best track record with the NFL. He went all in on the Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl win last year with three bets worth around $1.26 million and it paid off. Shifting his attention to Kansas City this year, he also bet over $1 million on the Chiefs winning the AFC championship last month and the team was able to pull it out despite Mahomes’ high ankle sprain.

Philadelphia and the Rocky Balboa statue

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce already warned Kansas City fans not to interfere with the legend of the Rocky Balboa statue. "Chiefs, do not touch the f***ing Rocky memorial!" Kelce said on his "New Heights" podcast with brother and Eagles center Jason Kelce. "Do not do that, and definitely don't put a No. 87 on it!"

They did not listen.

For years, opposing fans’ team merchandise being placed on the figure has not ended well. The phenomenon was most recently displayed during last month's NFC championship. The legend prevailed twice in 2018 when the Eagles won the NFC championship and Super Bowl LII after the Vikings and Patriots attempted to test the Balboa theory. The curse was also illustrated when the Giants lost a 2015 regular season game to the Eagles, 27-7, after a No. 5 New York jersey was placed on the statue.

It's possible the Chiefs will overcome all of these myths and create their own legend come Sunday.