In sports, there are some interesting quirks or coincidences in sports- years in which some teams do well or not.
[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/010509a"]ESPN.com: Page 2 : Ewing Theory 101[/ame]
I was inspired by Bill Simmons 'Ewing Theory on ESPN.com- which means that some teams thrive, rather than wilt, when their best player is hurt or traded while they didn't wing anything with them.
There have been many examples of this- Tennessee football winning the college football national title the year after Peyton Manning graduated, the New York Giants winning the Super Bowl after Tiki Martin retired, the Red Sox breaking their 86 year jinx after trading Nomar in 2004.
It doesn't just have to relate to sports- like when the WWF (now WWE) took off in popularity after Bret Hart's departure in 1997.
One of these examples inspired a theory of my own- how Beverly Hills 90210 still remained strong after Shannen Doherty left the show and was replaced by Tiffani Thiessen (then Tiffani-Amber).
Inspired by this example of the Ewing theory, I have come up with my own unique example of teams doing well in the presence of someone and what they do.
The Shannen Doherty theory.
It's a strange phenomenon where some teams do well or poorly during the years in which Shannen Doherty is on a show or leaves (This isn't personal- I love Shannen as an actress and I think she ages like fine wine- but it's very odd how some teams fare).
Sounds silly, doesn't it? Well, consider the Detroit Red Wings.
Shannen was on 90210 from 1990-91 to 1993-94: in those four years, the Red Wings was only one playoff series, lost to a #8 seed in game 7 on their home ice, blew a 2-0 series lead against Toronto in 1993 and a 3-1 series lead in 1991 to St. Louis.
The following year- year 1 of the post-Shannen 90210- Detroit makes their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1966- in 1997 and 1998.
Then, Shannen came back to TV, and was on the WB Network's 'Charmed' for three seasons- 1998-99, 1999-00, and 2000-01. In those years, the Red Wings never got past the second round- and blew 2-0 series leads twice.
Then, Shannen left Charmed after 2001, and in 2001-02, Detroit won the Stanley Cup.
But when she did 'Scare Tactics' on the Sci-Fi network in 2003 and 2004, the Wings were swept by Anaheim in round 1 and lost to Calgary in round 2.
Think about that- the Red Wings sandwiched 5 Stanley Cup titles around her three-year stint on Charmed, during which they blew 2-0 series leads twice. I guess Prue Halliwell must have jinxed Hockeytown.
It's not just the Red Wings that relate to this theory.
Look at the Pittsburgh Penguins. In their first 23 seasons, they won only 4 playoff series combined. In 1990-91 and 1991-92- Shannen's first two years on 90210- the Penguins won back-to-back Stanley Cup. Also, the Penguins' 11-year run of consecutive playoff appearances ended in 2001-02- the first year of post-Shannen 'Charmed.'
The New York Yankees won 3 straight world titles from 1998-2000- all coinciding with Shannen's time on Charmed (it premiered in October 1998, during NYY's postseason run). After she left in the spring of 2001, the Yanks didn't win another title until 2009 (though they made two World Series appearances- but lost both times).
The San Francisco 49ers won the Super Bowl in 1989-90, but didn't win another util 1994-95. In between- Shannen's stint on 90210, where the 49ers lost three NFC Title games.
That's my example. What are some of yours?
[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/010509a"]ESPN.com: Page 2 : Ewing Theory 101[/ame]
I was inspired by Bill Simmons 'Ewing Theory on ESPN.com- which means that some teams thrive, rather than wilt, when their best player is hurt or traded while they didn't wing anything with them.
There have been many examples of this- Tennessee football winning the college football national title the year after Peyton Manning graduated, the New York Giants winning the Super Bowl after Tiki Martin retired, the Red Sox breaking their 86 year jinx after trading Nomar in 2004.
It doesn't just have to relate to sports- like when the WWF (now WWE) took off in popularity after Bret Hart's departure in 1997.
One of these examples inspired a theory of my own- how Beverly Hills 90210 still remained strong after Shannen Doherty left the show and was replaced by Tiffani Thiessen (then Tiffani-Amber).
Inspired by this example of the Ewing theory, I have come up with my own unique example of teams doing well in the presence of someone and what they do.
The Shannen Doherty theory.
It's a strange phenomenon where some teams do well or poorly during the years in which Shannen Doherty is on a show or leaves (This isn't personal- I love Shannen as an actress and I think she ages like fine wine- but it's very odd how some teams fare).
Sounds silly, doesn't it? Well, consider the Detroit Red Wings.
Shannen was on 90210 from 1990-91 to 1993-94: in those four years, the Red Wings was only one playoff series, lost to a #8 seed in game 7 on their home ice, blew a 2-0 series lead against Toronto in 1993 and a 3-1 series lead in 1991 to St. Louis.
The following year- year 1 of the post-Shannen 90210- Detroit makes their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1966- in 1997 and 1998.
Then, Shannen came back to TV, and was on the WB Network's 'Charmed' for three seasons- 1998-99, 1999-00, and 2000-01. In those years, the Red Wings never got past the second round- and blew 2-0 series leads twice.
Then, Shannen left Charmed after 2001, and in 2001-02, Detroit won the Stanley Cup.
But when she did 'Scare Tactics' on the Sci-Fi network in 2003 and 2004, the Wings were swept by Anaheim in round 1 and lost to Calgary in round 2.
Think about that- the Red Wings sandwiched 5 Stanley Cup titles around her three-year stint on Charmed, during which they blew 2-0 series leads twice. I guess Prue Halliwell must have jinxed Hockeytown.
It's not just the Red Wings that relate to this theory.
Look at the Pittsburgh Penguins. In their first 23 seasons, they won only 4 playoff series combined. In 1990-91 and 1991-92- Shannen's first two years on 90210- the Penguins won back-to-back Stanley Cup. Also, the Penguins' 11-year run of consecutive playoff appearances ended in 2001-02- the first year of post-Shannen 'Charmed.'
The New York Yankees won 3 straight world titles from 1998-2000- all coinciding with Shannen's time on Charmed (it premiered in October 1998, during NYY's postseason run). After she left in the spring of 2001, the Yanks didn't win another title until 2009 (though they made two World Series appearances- but lost both times).
The San Francisco 49ers won the Super Bowl in 1989-90, but didn't win another util 1994-95. In between- Shannen's stint on 90210, where the 49ers lost three NFC Title games.
That's my example. What are some of yours?