FEARING THE ‘SWIFT CURSE’

Pop megastar’s recent record with stadium gigs — she plays, then the local sports team loses — has superstitious Jays fans alarmed,

Taylor Swift isn’t usually tied to witchcraft. If anything, the pop megastar is considered angelic.

But now superstition in the world of sports has bubbled over to the sorcerous realm of pop music, with whisperings of a “Taylor Swift curse” hexing Blue Jays fans’ confidence.

At least three major league ball clubs have gone into a tailspin after T-Swizzle performed in their home stadium this summer.

Her wildly successful 1989 world tour is touching down in Toronto for back-toback performances Friday and Saturday.

“Get her the hell out of here,” said 31year-old Jays backer Stacy Christoforou, unblinking.

“It’s pretty startling,” said lifelong Jays fan Gavin Gerbz, who was at Exhibition Stadium on Oct. 5, 1985, when the team clinched its first divisional title.

Gerbz saw a ray of sunshine in the superstition.

“Usually these types of things happen in threes . . . so she’s used up those curses.”

The bad blood boiled up by hexes can’t be warded off by playoff beards or unwashed socks, but rather by holistic spirits, says Glenn Campbell, a shamanic practitioner in the GTA.

Campbell, 65, doubts Taylor Swift has cast any kind of spell, aside from charisma, on the three dispirited cities. “People aren’t that powerful.”

He suggests both Tay Tay and the Jays summon “healthy spirits” and “positive powers” as a force for good, the way he does.

Washington, D.C., Houston and San Diego could have used that shamanic wisdom.

Taylor Swift and the Jays have been on magical winning streaks, earning big-league hits and sold-out performances. But the question remains: Will a plague descend on both their houses?

In mid-July, Swift played two shows at Nationals Park in Washington. A pre-season favourite to win the World Series this year, the team has since suffered an epic collapse, symbolized by an ugly dugout fight between star Bryce Harper and pitcher Jonathan Papelbon over the weekend. The lights went out at Nationals Park just two days after her last show there, and play was suspended. On Twitter, Max Scherzer jokingly blamed Swift.

On Sept. 9, Swift played at Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros, who were leading their division. But the Astros then fell into a cosmic plummet, losing seven of their next 10. They are now fighting tooth and cleat for the last American League wildcard berth.

Swift played Petco Park in San Diego on Aug. 29. Although the Padres were eliminated from playoff contender status long ago, their record is 11-19 since the concert.

Both Swift and the Jays, meanwhile, have been on magical winning streaks, earning big-league hits and sold-out performances. She boasted the bestselling album for the first six months of 2015, while the Jays topped the American League East with 92 wins so far.

But the question remains: Will a plague descend on both their houses? Or can the Jays simply shake it off?