New York Knicks fans blamed President Donald Trump for the end of a 13-game winning streak following a loss to the San Antonio Spurs [1].
The incident highlights the intersection of sports superstition and political visibility, as fans attributed a professional athletic defeat to the presence of a political figure.
The game took place on March 30, 2025, at Madison Square Garden in New York City [1, 2]. The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Knicks with a final score of 115-111 [1]. This result snapped a momentum-building streak of 13 consecutive victories [1].
Following the loss, some supporters took to social media to express their frustration, coining the term "Trump curse" to describe the perceived jinx [2, 3]. The presence of the president was viewed by some as a catalyst for the team's failure to maintain its winning record.
"He came to the game and cursed us," said a Knicks fan on social media [2].
Other supporters suggested that the spectacle surrounding the president's attendance created an environment that hindered the players' performance. The atmosphere at the arena was described as a distraction that contributed to the outcome of the match.
"Trump’s presence was a distraction and we lost because of it," said another fan on Twitter [3].
While fans focused on the perceived curse, other perspectives on the loss emerged. Some reports indicated that Coach Mike Brown attributed the defeat to the performance of the referees rather than the presence of the president [4].
“"He came to the game and cursed us,"”
The reaction from the Knicks fanbase demonstrates how high-profile political figures can become lightning rods for frustration in sports culture. By attributing a tactical loss to a 'curse,' fans project the polarization of national politics onto the arena, transforming a standard athletic defeat into a narrative about political influence and superstition.
