Candis R. McLean
Toronto rapper and music mogul Drake felt pretty confident after the Toronto Raptors 108-95 Game 1 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night. The Views hip-hop act exclaimed on the way out of the arena, “What about the Michael Rubin curse? Nobody wants to talk about that? The Michael Rubin curse.” Michael Rubin, 76ers co-owner, made sure he brought all the smoke to the court on Monday night. He wore his lucky custom Jordan 1s, a signature shoe that has been making its rounds through Philly athletes and celebs. He also heckled Drake and posted the videos on his Instagram story.
Between Rubin’s crew, his lucky sneakers, and Embiid’s girlfriend Anne De Paula rubbing the game ball, Drake’s request to pass the curse along was denied. The Sixers won the game 94-89 and are headed back to Philly for a pivotal game-three matchup Thursday night. After the victory, Rubin posted this to jab at Drake:
Let’s look at some of Drake’s track record to date:
• In 2015, Drake was in attendance when Serena Williams lost to unranked Italian Roberta Vinci at the U.S. Open semifinals.
• Drake was side-by-side with Conor McGregor at his weigh-in for his fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 236. Drake was even draped in the Irish flag. We all know how that fight ended up.
• Drake recorded himself wearing an Alabama sweatshirt and posted it to his Instagram. The IG post took place directly before the 2019 National Championship game. Alabama lost 44-16.
• Drake became Toronto Raptors“Global Ambassador” in 2013. The Raptors even have an alternate jersey framed after Drake’s OVO brand. Drake continues to bring his enthusiasm to the games as the team suffers postseason woes left and right.
• The Grammy award-winning artist was in attendance of Game 4 of the NHL playoffs between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins, sporting a Leafs jersey. That night, the Maple Leafs lost 6-4. They would go on to lose the series 4-3.
• AS Roma banned players from taking photos with Drake until the end of the season. The blockade came two days after he recently posed for a photo with Paris Saint-Germain’s Layvin Kurzawa. Kurzawa posted it to Instagram. Two days later, PSG lost 5-1 to Lille.
There are countless other examples to pull from when it comes to Drake and sports flops. The rundown is crystal clear. Drake has a long track record of supporting losers or creating them with his voodoo. His attempt to transfer any of that energy to Michael Rubin can’t negate his CVS receipt lengthed list of cursed moments.
The 76ers have won 50-plus games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 30 years. Whatever magic Michael Rubin is slinging, keep it coming. The last victims to go against Rubin, The Breakfast Club co-host, Angela Yee, was forced to wear a Ben Simmons jersey.
If the Sixers advance, I have no interest in putting a jersey on Drake. We don’t need that karma in Philly.
You can follow Candis McLean on Twitter (@CandisRMcLean) and e-mail her at [email protected].
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