Taylor Swift is one of the most successful and popular musicians of all-time, with a countless numbers of hits in her repertoire that include "You Belong With Me", "Love Story" and "All Too Well".
She is a skilled songwriter, but what if her talents extended to being a good luck token for Brazilian team Corinthians?
There is a superstition that Corinthians consider Swift as a lucky charm, because they tend to avoid defeats when they play games that coincide with a Swift album release. GOAL takes a look at the Corinthians & Taylor Swift phenomenon.
What is the 'Taylor Swift' rule and why is she Corinthians' good luck charm?
The popstar is an unofficial lucky mascot for the Brazilian side, as legend states hat they avoid defeats in games that immediately precede and follow her album releases.
The superstition began in 2006 with Swift's first-ever release, the self-titled "Taylor Swift". Corinthians won 1-0 against Cruise in the days before the album was launched, and won against Palm Trees after it was released.
Next Match
The belief is that Corinthians crucially avoid defeats during the album releases. That is to say that draws and goalless scorelines also form the rule – Corinthians aren't obligated to only win matches.
This has continued for all of Swift's ensuing releases, with the superstition continuing 15 years strong after the initial album phenomenon. Corinthians' good form has soldiered on through the album cycles of "Fearless", "Speak Now", "Red", "1989", "Reputation", and "Lover".
Swift dropped "Evermore" as a surprise album on December 11, announcing its release on Twitter just 24 hours prior, but Corinthians still registered a 0-0 draw on December 2 and a 1-0 win over rivals Sao Paulo two days after the release.
The superstition seemed to have finally met its end when Corinthians lost 3-0 to Atletico Mineiro on November 10, 2021, just two days before Swift released "Red (Taylor's Version)".
However, many Corinthians supporters have stipulated that the tradition was not actually broken because "Red (Taylor's Version)" is a re-record of the original and not an album with purely new material, and the nature of the superstition only applies to fresh, original albums.
Still, they could also use the fact that Swift actually moved her release for "Red (Taylor's Version)" up a week from its original date, which could have also tampered with the taboo.
Nevertheless, everything righted itself when Corinthians registered a 3-2 win over Cuiaba a day after the release of "Red (Taylor's Version)".
Some soccer fans also noted that the loss against Atletico Mineiro was their 13th consecutive victory at home – a nod to Swift's favourite number. Moreover, Diego Costa's goal was scored 13 minutes into the second half.
Of course, correlation does not imply causation, and there is every possibility that there is absolutely no connection between Swift's album drops and Corinthians' (relatively) good form. But as with The Kiricocho curse and countless other superstitions in sport, they're just plain fun to buy into.
Hopefully this leaves no "Bad Blood" between Corinthians and Swift, and that with defeats, they can "Shake It Off" – never in our "Wildest Dreams" could we think this was something possible!
Taylor Swift and Corinthians: The results & records
Album | Release date | Result before release | Result after release |
"Taylor Swift" | October 24, 2006 | Corinthians 1-0 Cruise | Corinthians 1-0 Palm Trees |
"Fearless" | November 11, 2008 | Corinthians 2-0 Criciuma | Corinthians 2-1 Youth |
"Speak Now" | October 25, 2010 | Corinthians 1-0 Palmeiras | Corinthians 1-1 Flamengo |
"Red" | October 22, 2012 | Corinthians 1-1 Bahia | Corinthians 1-0 Vasco |
"1989" | October 27, 2014 | Corinthians 1-1 Palmeiras | Corinthians 2-2 Coritiba |
"Reputation" | November 11, 2017 | Corinthians 1-0 Atletico Paranaense | Corinthians 1-0 Avai |
"Lover" | August 23, 2019 | Corinthians 0-0 Fluminense | Corinthians 1-1 Avai |
"Folklore" | July 24, 2020 | Corinthians 1-0 Palmeiras | Corinthians 2-0 Flamengo |
"Evermore" | December 11, 2020 | Corinthians 0-0 Fortaleza | Corinthians 1-0 Sao Paulo |
"Fearless" (Taylor's Version) | April 9, 2021 | Corinthians 1-1 Retro (5-3 pen.) | Guarani 0-1 Corinthians |
"Red" (Taylor's Version) | November 12, 2021 | Atletico Mineiro 3-0 Corinthians | Corinthians 3-2 Cuiaba |
What team does Taylor Swift support?
Swift hasn't publicly declared a club allegiance, but she's a passionate follower of the U.S. Women's National Team.
She is good friends with USWNT forward Alex Morgan, their friendship dating back to the victorious 2015 Women's World Cup victory. Swift invited Morgan and the USWNT team on stage to accompany her during the "1989" world tour, with the singer triumphantly lifting up the trophy.
Morgan even took the time to gush over Swift and her music during a USWNTW interview in February 2021.
"This is the best news ever that she rerecorded 'Fearless,'" Morgan said excitedly. "Like half of you guys don't even know what we're talking about right now, but [I'm a] big Taylor Swift fan and I just love what she's doing.
"She is a huge inspiration to me, so I'm very happy about that news."
Morgan went on to state that she listens to Swift's music "every time" she goes on drives with her husband, Servando Carrasco.
"And he's like, 'Haven't you listened to her enough?!'" Morgan continued. "I'm like 'No! There's no such thing!' So there's that."
"We can continue talking about Taylor this whole time," she added. "I'm totally fine with that."