Fear of the curse: Chiefs fans should just not adorn the famous Rocky Balboa statue in Philadelphia with jerseys, demands Travis Kelce.

Rocky Balboa wore the jersey of the New York Giants, the New England Patriots, also the San Francisco 49ers. And a scarf from the Minnesota Vikings. It has become a tradition to adorn the statue of the hero from the famous boxing movies in Philadelphia, opposing fans like to make this fun before football games against the Eagles, but it backfires again and again. There’s a curse.

“Chiefs, don’t touch the damn Rocky monument,” was therefore the latest appeal from NFL pro Travis Kelce with an eye on the upcoming Super Bowl on Monday night. The tight end from Eagles opponent Kansas City Chiefs doesn’t want disaster to catch his team either.

The Giants lost in 2015 after the statue that stands below the stairs to the Museum of Art was outfitted with the blue shirt. The Vikings fell victim to the curse in 2018 in the NFC Championship Game, and the Patriots weeks later. Before Super Bowl LII, Rocky was draped in a jersey worn by then-Pats quarterback Tom Brady, and the Eagles beat New England to win their first NFL title.

But fans seem to have learned nothing from that. Just over a fortnight ago, the 49ers were in town for the play-off semi-final, so Rocky, embodied in the films of Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone, got a red jersey. San Francisco lost 7-31.