SALT LAKE CITY -- A shrine aimed at bringing good vibes to the Utah Jazz as the team continues its playoff run, is turning some heads in downtown Salt Lake City.
Sometime in the last few days, the shrine popped up on 300 South and 200 East.
It features photos of Jazz players from the past and present, candles, and an angel dressed in a Jazz jersey.
A sign on the corner of the shrine reads “#JazzVooDoo, Positive Vibes,” but that isn’t the message striking most people who pass by.
“I just wanted to know who died,” Taylor Madden said. “It looks like a shrine for somebody who died.”
She wasn’t the only person to think the worst.
“My first thought, one of the players had died,” Garrett Woll said. “I saw all the Jazz stuff and I thought someone from the team had died.”
Stumbling upon the shrine caused another fan to frantically check her phone.
“I immediately started Googling who off of the Utah Jazz had passed away,” said Sophia Thompson.
It’s a mystery as to who is responsible for mix of Jazz memorabilia and religious candles.
“I don’t know why,” Regan Flack said. “I don’t know who did it.”
The shrine is growing as people pass by and leave small tokens like pennies, chewing gum, lip balm and almonds.
“It seems passersby are leaving whatever they have in their pockets to contribute to the Jazz winning,” Thompson said.
Some fans think the shrine is ill conceived.
“This is kind of a perverse way to bring good luck,” Madden said. “It seems kind of creepy to me.”
Others think it is ready to serve another purpose just in case the team’s playoff run has an untimely conclusion.
“We hope you don’t die, but here’s a shrine just in case you do,” Madden said. “If the playoffs are really, really bad, we made this spot for you.“
