“Curse” or Coincidence? The Community Shield, Liverpool, Palace and the Odd Superstitions of Football Fandom

Liverpool Fans supporting at Anfield(image source)

Every season, the FA Community Shield arrives as football’s ceremonial curtain-raiser — a Wembley showpiece pitched as a friendly yet competitive indicator. This year’s dramatic shoot-out between Liverpool and Crystal Palace rekindled an old conversation: is the Shield cursed?

The superstition goes like this: lift the Community Shield and you dramatically lower your chances of winning the Premier League. Fans and pundits love the idea, and this year the debate has been back in the headlines.

The statistics are useful fuel for the theory. An in-depth look at Shield winners in the Premier League era finds that only about eight of 33 winners went on to claim the title in the same season (roughly 24%). Conversely, several teams that lost the Shield later lifted the league trophy. TheAnalyst’s recent breakdown makes the pattern stark: four of the last six teams to lose the Shield went on to win the Premier League. That inversion is the numeric backbone of the “curse” meme.

Fans treat superstition like seasoning. Liverpool supporters, for once, celebrated not winning the Shield. On social media, some Reds quipped that skipping the winner’s podium reduced the risk of a seasonal jinx; others toasted a “moral victory,” arguing that a pre-season win can lull teams into overconfidence. Crystal Palace fans, meanwhile, reveled in Wembley glory and shrugged off the hex. For them, the Shield was tangible history — their first ever — and worth celebrating regardless of the statistics.

Why do such beliefs persist? Football is emotional, and humans are pattern-seekers. Anecdote becomes evidence if you look long enough. The “curse” is less about causality and more about narrative: fans want meaning before the grind of a 38-game campaign. Managers see the match as fitness and tactical preparation, but for supporters, a superstition is a shared ritual — a mix of hope, banter, and group identity.

Superstition is woven into football culture worldwide. Some teams refuse to wash kits after a winning streak; players stick to the same pre-match meal or music; managers avoid certain dugout seats. From Atlético Madrid’s Diego Simeone ignoring “jinxes” to Liverpool fans carrying the same scarf to every away game, rituals can be both playful and deeply ingrained.

So, is the Community Shield cursed? Statistically, the evidence is thin. Winning or losing can influence team mentality, but the league season’s outcome depends on far more — injuries, form, depth, and sheer luck. What the Shield reliably offers is drama and debate. Whether Palace’s Wembley triumph sparks a title challenge is almost beside the point; for fans, the story and superstition are entertainment in themselves.