Can the Royals overcome The Taylor Swift Curse to win the World Series? UPDATE: No, they cannot.

Update: The curse is real. Taylor Swift put out a new album in October 2014, and the Giants won the World Series.

Despite what we believe to be a concept album about the Royals' 2014 postseason run, the Oct. 27 release of 1989 did indeed bring the Giants their third championship in five years. If Swift releases an album in 2016, go ahead and pencil the Giants in as world champs. 

Continue to doubt the Swift curse at your own peril. 

Original article: 

The Royals barely stand a chance.

Sure, they stole and bunted their way to a dramatic Wild Card Game victory over the Athletics. Then they found their power and homered their way past the Angels and Orioles with little trouble. But if the Royals intended to see that run through to a World Series championship, they really should have wrapped the Fall Classic up in five games. Because they're now facing a force so powerful that no king or queen could stop it, even with the unified strength of all the Seven Kingdoms behind them.

That force is Taylor Swift.

See, much has been written about the every-other-year success the Giants have achieved, with World Series wins in 2010 and 2012 and a berth again this season. But you might not know that all that success has been Swift's doing, too.*

On Oct. 25, 2010, Taylor Swift released her third studio album Speak Now to stores and digital libraries everywhere. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold more than a million copies in its first week.

On Oct. 27, 2010, the Giants beat the Rangers, 11-7, in Game 1 of the World Series. Tim Lincecum got the win. The Giants went on to win Games 2, 4 and 5, to earn the franchise's first World Series title since 1954.

On Oct. 22, 2012, Swift released her fourth studio album Red to stores and digital libraries everywhere. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold more than a million copies in its first week.

On October 24, 2012, the Giants beat the Tigers, 8-3, in Game 1 of the World Series. Pablo Sandoval hit three home runs and Barry Zito got the win. The Giants went on to win Games 2, 3 and 4 to complete a sweep of the Tigers and bring home the franchise's second World Series title in three years.

On Oct. 27, 2014, Swift released her fifth studio album 1989 to stores and digital libraries everywhere. The Giants already hold a 3-2 series lead over the Royals in this year's Fall Classic, and if the trend holds, they'll surely win Game 6 or Game 7 to win the franchise's third World Series in five seasons, just as surely as 1989 will debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and sell a million copies in its first week.

If the Giants win the 2014 World Series, it will all be Swift's doing. Well, and maybe some help from that Madison Bumgarner guy, too.

*Swift's debut album was released in 2006, but dropped after the World Series between the Cardinals and Tigers had started, so the Giants had already been eliminated. Similarly, her 2008 sophomore effort was released after the MLB season had ended.