• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Los Angeles Kings

Kings Remove “Jinxed” Taylor Swift Banner From Staples Center

By Quinn McLellan January 4th, 2021

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Staples Center is the home of multiple Los Angeles sports franchises including the Clippers (NBA), Lakers (NBA), Sparks (WNBA) and most importantly, the LA Kings. However, until recently it was also home to a banner that some Kings fans believed jinxed the team.

It looks like the Taylor Swift banner has been removed at Staples Center. pic.twitter.com/YBbQvZbcpc

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) December 23, 2020

Starting in October 2019, the LA Kings began covering up the Taylor Swift banner during home games due to fan disdain towards the “cursed” banner. To understand why this superstition came to be, you need to know how the Kings fared before the banner was lifted to the rafters, and how they fared afterward.

Before the Banner

The LA Kings were on a roll before the banner was raised in 2015. Throughout most of the 2000s, the Kings were rebuilding. By stockpiling draft picks, they managed to assemble a group of top talents such as future Hall of Fame blueliner Drew Doughty; one of the best two-way forwards of this generation, Anze Kopitar; a gritty top-line winger in Dustin Brown; goaltending sensation Jonathan Quick; and now-former King Tyler Toffoli.

Los Angeles Kings Drew Doughty Anze Kopitar Dustin Brown
Los Angeles Kings Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

By drafting talents such as the aforementioned players and through acquiring players such as Jeff Carter (who was a fantastic second-line center back in the day) and Mr. Game 7, Justin Williams, the Kings had a great roster rolling into the 2010s. This core resulted in the team having its most successful period in franchise history

In 2012, the Kings made the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and shockingly annihilated the reigning, back-to-back Presidents’ Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks in the opening round. Led by Brown and Kopitar at forward and a dominant Jonathan Quick in net, the Kings went on to defeat the St. Louis Blues, Phoenix Coyotes, and New Jersey Devils en route to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.

Former Los Angeles Kings player and current team president Luc Robitaille hoists the Stanley Cup after the 2012 Stanley Cup Final. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE)

LA followed 2012 up with another successful playoff run in 2013. They defeated St. Louis in the first round, and most memorably for Kings’ fans, dispatched their longtime rival San Jose in the conference semifinal. In the Western Conference Final, LA lost to the Chicago Blackhawks, who subsequently became one of LA’s biggest rivals of the early to mid-2010s.

Related: Los Angeles Kings’ Greatest Rivals

2014 saw the Kings win their second Stanley Cup in the span of three seasons in a very memorable playoff run. LA humiliated their rival Sharks by stunningly reverse sweeping them in the first round – one of the rarest feats to accomplish in the playoffs. Afterward, they knocked out another of the team’s greatest foes, the Anaheim Ducks, in a brutal seven-game series, which marked the first time the “Freeway Face-Off” was contested in the postseason.

San Jose Sharks Marc-Edouard Vlasic Anaheim Ducks Jakob Silfverberg
LA knocked out both of their California rivals en route to winning the Stanley Cup in 2014. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

In the Western Conference Final, LA enacted revenge on the Blackhawks in what was later named “the series of the decade.” Finally, LA disposed of the New York Rangers in five games to once again capture hockey’s greatest prize, Lord Stanley’s Cup.

The Cursed Banner

On Aug. 21, 2015, Staples Center hung up a banner commemorating Taylor Swift selling out the arena for 16 concerts in a row. Subsequently, the so-called Taylor Swift banner jinx began.

Following the arrival of the banner, the Kings have had no playoff success. The Kings missed the 2015 playoffs, marking the first time they missed the postseason in the decade. As a result of the team’s lackluster season, the myth of the jinxed banner was born.

The first playoffs the Kings qualified for (2016) after the banner was hung saw them receive a five-game drubbing in the first round at the hands of the Sharks, who were looking for revenge after being reverse swept by LA in 2014.

San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture
San Jose Sharks (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

In 2017, LA once again missed the playoffs. In the 2017-18 season, Anze Kopitar posted a career-high 92 points, lifting the team back into the playoffs. However, the Kings were once again quickly disposed of. This time around, the Vegas Golden Knights (a first-year expansion team) humiliated the Kings by sweeping them in the first round.

Gerard Gallant Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas Golden Knights bench (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

The Kings missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, and in 2019, they began covering the Taylor Swift banner before every game, as their recent run of failure had only begun after the banner was raised.

How it Impacts the Team

Whether the banner was what doomed the Kings’ playoff dreams or if it was just their window closing will never be known. However, removing it will appease the fan base, who didn’t like the banner to begin with, and the other portion, who believed it to be jinxed. This marks a win-win for the Kings (good PR) and the fans who disliked the banner. If LA qualifies for the playoffs in 2021, you will probably see some people discussing the curse being lifted.


Sign up for our regular 'Kings Newsletter' for all the latest.

  • Tags
  • Staples Center
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 24th 3:25 PM
Montreal Canadiens

3 Takeaways From Canadiens’ 5-2 Win Over Canucks

Jan 24th 3:15 PM
Montreal Canadiens

Prospects News & Rumors: Michigan, Gushchin & Gordin

Jan 24th 3:05 PM
New York Rangers

Rangers News & Rumors: Chytil, Dubois Traded, Lafreniere & More

Jan 24th 2:55 PM
Buffalo Sabres

Sabres Getting the Best of Curtis Lazar

Jan 24th 2:05 PM
New Jersey Devils

Devils Are in Good Hands With Jack Hughes

Jan 24th 1:35 PM
San Jose Sharks

Sharks Seeing Offense From Erik Karlsson But Defense Is Lacking

Jan 24th 1:10 PM
Women's Hockey

NWHL Goalies Steal the Show on Day 1 of 2021 Season

Jan 24th 12:35 PM
Columbus Blue Jackets

NHL Rumors: Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Jets, Dubois, More

Jan 24th 11:15 AM
Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs’ Frederik Andersen: Slowly But Surely Finding His Game

Jan 24th 11:00 AM
Archives

Canucks Have an Eye for the Swedes

Editor’s Picks
2021 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini's Top 75 Rankings

2021 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini's Top 75 Rankings

Wayne Gretzky Almost Joined the Detroit Red Wings

Wayne Gretzky Almost Joined the Detroit Red Wings

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information