Kardashian Curse: Is It Real?

The "Kardashian Curse" sounds like something out of Harry Potter - but according to the Huffington Post, it's very real.

They report that the "Kardashian Curse" is the negative effect that dating a Kardashian has had on several athletes: namely, NFL player Reggie Bush and NBA players Kris Humphries and Lamar Odom.

The "Kardashian Curse" is the resultant drop in "N-Score" that follows athletes who date Kardashian sisters - where N-Score is a scale of an athlete's popularity in the general public. It led to greater exposure certainly, but a lot of that exposure is negative in nature - hence, the "Kardashian Curse".

A representative from the Niesen company told HuffPo that: "Between Lamar Odom, Reggie Bush and Kris Humphries, those guys have all had their N-Score hurt, and it isn't because of their awareness. Their awareness has actually shot up, in every case, but their negative appeal has also shot up. You need to do well, and you also need to date someone who people like. The Kardashians are controversial. They have really negatively impacted the marketability of [Odom, Bush and Humphries]."

The results are fairly apparent. Bush's career fell off a cliff before he resurrected himself as a solid player for the Miami Dolphins - post-breakup with Kim, of course. Odom married sister Khloe and had a miserable year for the Dallas Mavericks, but he has bounced back well since moving to the Los Angeles Clippers. Maybe being away from Khloe in LA was negatively impacting his game?

But the worst recipient of the "Kardashian Curse" is definitely poor Kris Humphries. He was a solid, little-known player in the NBA before he began dating Kim K, and now hears relentless booing in every stadium across the country. Even if fans don't know Humphries' personality, they know he's associated with Kim Kardashian, who is not exactly the most well-liked person in America.

No idea yet what the "Kardashian Curse" will mean for Kim's baby daddy Kanye West - maybe an algorithm comparing his album sales post-Kim and pre-Kim would help.

Maybe their baby will break the "Kardashian Curse" for good, just like Harry Potter beat Voldermort!