ST. LOUIS (97.1 The Ticket) -- The St. Louis Blues are just one win away from hoisting the Stanley Cup for the very first time in franchise history.
But some fans are feeling a little more nervous ahead of Sunday night's Game 6 against the Boston Bruins after an apparent mishap by a local newspaper.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch accidentally ran a set of ads congratulating the Blues winning the Stanley Cup in Sunday's suscriber-only digital edition of the publication.
Per @robheaton & @stltoday, these ads were in today’s subscriber-only e-edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.Just couldn’t wait, I guess.#StanleyCup #Blues #Bruins pic.twitter.com/McTlIR559P
— Randy Scott (@RandyScottESPN)
June 9, 2019 The ads include a congratulatory message from the newspaper, a spot from St. Louis-based Enterprise Rent-a-Car and a lengthy message from Blues chairman and governor Tom Stillman.
"We are so very proud of our players, our organization and our fans. And now, together, we can finally say, 'We won the Cup for St. Louis,'" Stillman's message concluded.
The newspaper issued a statement, apologizing for the mishap.
"In preparation for the outcome of the Stanley Cup Final, some of our readers got a sneak peek at what our advertisers are hoping to say to the Blues, the fans and St. Louis. We apologize for the sneak peek and hope to share their messages with everyone very soon!"
In preparation for the outcome of the Stanley Cup Final, some of our readers got a sneak peek at what our advertisers are hoping to say to the Blues, the fans and St. Louis. We apologize for the sneak peek and hope to share their messages with everyone very soon!
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch (@stltoday)
June 9, 2019 While the folks at the Post-Dispatch were clearly just preparing for what very well could happen Sunday night, many people on social media are calling the early publication of the ads ominous.
Did the Blues just get jinxed?
Sports legend says pre-mature celebratory messages may not bode well for the Blues. Just take the 1986 Boston Red Sox for example. With just a few outs to go before
finally winning a World Series for the first time in more than six decades a message flashed on the scoreboard at Shea Stadium:
pic.twitter.com/dXdrapGFvC
— ---- Danny ---- (@GenXHabsFan)
June 9, 2019 Just moments later the infamous Bill Buckner play occurred, allowing the Mets to rally and force a Game 7.
Or how about
Bernie Mac in Chicago? An inning prior to the infamous Steve Bartman incident in the 8th inning of Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, the Chicago comedian sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch. He replaced "root, root, root for the 'Cubbies'" with "root, root, root for the 'CHAMPS!'" Many Cubs fans saw that as a bad omen, as was documented in ESPN Films' "Catching Hell" documentary.
Whether the flub from the newspaper will come back to bite the Blues will be determined in the coming days. They very well could make it all a moot point and wrap up the series on Sunday night -- or they could be forced to sweat things out until Game 7 on Wednesday.
Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. Sunday.
