Yesterday, the New York Islanders entered the third period of their game against the Detroit Red Wings with a 2-0 lead before ultimately losing 4-3 in overtime. However, after a disappointing loss, fans directed their frustration towards MSG broadcaster Brendan Burke.
Not too long before forward Daniel Sprong scored the Red Wings’ first goal of the evening, Burke made the mistake of referencing the Islanders being on a five-plus period shutout streak. Fans are accusing Burke of committing the infamous “announcer’s jinx,” when an announcer mentions a statistic during the game and the opposite ends up happening.
The Islanders had just shut out the Columbus Blue Jackets over the weekend in their most recent victory and looked to be on their way to making it a second consecutive game against the Red Wings before Burke “jinxed” the team.
Tom Niemczyk, a user on X (also known as Twitter), mentioned Burke in a social media post that read the following: You don’t tug on Superman’s cape. You don’t spit into the wind. You don’t pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger. And you don’t talk about streaks during the game!”
Niemczyk followed up his post with hashtags such as #jinx and #rookiemovie, a clear sign of frustration towards Burke. Burke has taken the social media backlash well and even weighed in on the matter in a joking fashion to lighten the mood.
“Wasn’t me. I have it on good authority some guy in Massapequa was sitting on the wrong couch cushion in the third period,” Burke stated on X in response to a comment made about him “jinxing” the Islanders.
