What Is the 'Drake Curse' and Is Alabama the Latest Victim?

Tua Tagovailoa's two interceptions, a struggling offense and a botched fake field goal play. If Alabama fans wanted something to blame for their team's loss in the national championship game on Monday night, they have a lengthy list of excuses to pick from.

But what if the only man responsible for the 44-16 thrashing at the hands of Clemson wasn't even on the field and is, in fact, a music star?

Read more: Is Clemson the greatest college football team ever after going 15-0?

It might seem an absurd suggestion, but after the Tigers swept Alabama aside many pointed the finger toward Drake.

The Canadian-born rapper is famous for topping charts but in sports circles he has a rather less lofty reputation, largely as he's become an apparent jinx for the teams and athletes he supports.

Earlier this month, Drake shared a video of himself working out in the gym while wearing a University of Alabama sweatshirt. Alabama Football's official Twitter page reposted the video, captioning it:

"Get your mind right! Motivation from @Drake repping Bama!"

It is unknown whether the person who reposted Drake's video was unaware of the jinx or simply chose to ignore it, but Crimson Tide fans tried their best to warn the team of the implications of endorsing Drake as a celebrity fan. Predictably, after Alabama lost, Twitter users were quick to identify the "In My Feelings" star as the chief culprit.

A lifelong fan of the Toronto Raptors, Drake is one of the franchise's global ambassadors and is regularly spotted courtside at the Scotiabank Arena. Unfortunately for him, the organization has reached the postseason only 10 times in the 23 seasons since its foundation in 1995.

When the Raptors have reached the playoffs, they have never made it past the Conference Finals. They were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Semifinals in each of the past two seasons.

The Raptors aren't the only NBA team Drake has been close to. In 2013, the rapper attended Game 7 of the NBA Finals as the Miami Heat clinched a second consecutive NBA title. He was famously denied entry to the Heat locker room after the game.

A year later, in a rematch of the 2013 Finals, the Heat lost in five games to the San Antonio Spurs, before LeBron James left South Beach to return to Cleveland.

While LeBron reached four straight NBA Finals and won a ring in 2016, the Heat missed out on the playoffs altogether twice in the same period.

Drake even entertained a full-fledged romance with the Kentucky Wildcats.

He first made a fleeting appearance at Big Blue Madness—the event at which the Wildcats basketball team is officially unveiled—in 2009, before getting the school hit by an NCAA violation a couple of years later.

The issue stemmed from a picture former Wildcat Tyler Ulis took with the rapper at one his concerts before sharing it on Instagram. Kentucky won a national title in 2012 but have been made to wait for another triumph ever since.

It is not just teams that feel the effect of being associated with Drake either. In October, MMA fighter Conor McGregor brought Drake out ahead of his bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov.

McGregor ended up losing the fight and after Alabama's thrashing on Monday, Drake might have a hard time finding another team to support.