Curses Are Not Real

When I was 18, the Pittsburgh Steelers were playing the Tennessee Titans in a playoff game. The game got to overtime and the Titans lined up for the game winning kick. Joe Nedney lined the kick up, hit it, saw it was going to miss, and took a dive in to the ground as a Steeler brushed his leg. A penalty was called, Nedney kicked it again, and after the game made some snide comment about being up for an Oscar. I put a hex on him after that incident and I kid you not, the guy blew his ACL out in the first game of the next season.

I briefly considered the power that I had been imbued with and just what kind of use I should put it to (I was leaning heavily towards "evil"), before I realized that was ridiculous. Curses are not real. They might feel real, especially after your favorite 97-win team continues their franchises 100-year streak of not winning a World Series, but I assure you, they are not real.

Manny Ramirez hit well during the postseason? CURSE! Alfonso Soriano disappeared during the playoffs? CURSE! A great regular season Lou Piniella team fell well short of expectations? CURSE! When you've existed for 100 years, sometimes bad things happen. Every franchise in baseball that's existed since 1908 has their own share of black cat and Bartman moments.

The Cubs haven't gotten a good break, but that's not entirely unusual. The Red Sox and White Sox both went almost 90 years without a World Series, the Indians are up to 60. Baseball is not known for it's historical parity, but eventually things even out. The last incarnation of the Dodgers had it right: "Wait 'til next year" is much better than "The Curse of the Billy Goat."

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

10-05-2008 @ 10:35AM

Wayne said...

Thank you. The Cubbies are not cursed. Hell, they can't even decide what supposedly caused or started their curse. The Cubs have simply been a rather pathetic franchise for most of the last 100 years. They haven't consistently fielded competitive teams capable of making the playoffs let alone winning the World Series. Their recent playoff failures are nothing more than that. The Angels haven't had any postseason success since 2002. Are they cursed, too? Of course not.

Real or not, the Red Sox at least had a single event that seemed to trigger 86 years of heartbreak and near misses. The painful losses in the World Series in '46, '67, '75, and '86 coupled with the excruciating one game playoff loss in '78 and the crushing game 7 defeat in the 2003 ALCS made the Curse of the Bambino at least seem possible to the fans.

Having the rug ripped out from under you is certainly more painful than simply being loveable losers.

10-06-2008 @ 11:33AM

TOMMY said...

HEY CUB FANS, FACE IT, YOU LOST! AGAIN!
IT JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU THAT THE NAME CUBS IS JUST WHAT IT IS," COMPLETELY USELESS BY SEPTEMBER" !
THERE'S NO CURSE ! JUST A BUNCH OF CRY BABIES. ROOT FOR A REAL TEAM THAT WINS!
GO WHITE SOX!

10-05-2008 @ 11:17AM

Grer The Sarcastic Bastard said...

You're right, curses aren't real. But how much fun could we have with 100 years of futility if we didn't attach it to some unknown supernatural force, no matter how ridiculous it may be. It makes people laugh instead of crying, talks them down from the ledge, stops them from sending Bartman to the witness protec... uh, never mind.

10-06-2008 @ 10:21PM

Bernie said...

am and have always been a Mets Fan. I honestly wanted the Cubs to win after the second Mets choke job but after reading this article I'm glad the Dodgers drove another dager in the cities collective hearts. Unlike evrey other team in the league which blame their lack of winning the big game on their manager the Chicago has to blame a poor soul and proceed to drive that blameless person out of town with life threats, hit men, and linch mobs. What a bunch of classless people! Look no further than your idot superstitiuos beliefs and you might actually get the monkey off your hunched backs. You all act like a bunch of igores looking for your next victim. You should all go out, find a goat take it out to the pitchers mound at Wrigley field, cut it open and drink it blood before you shoot it. Hey, there's an idea that might actually work! Don't be such damned losers, leave the Steve Bartmans, Fukodomo's of the world alone and point the blame on your choke job team!

GO DODGERS!

10-05-2008 @ 4:38PM

oneopinion said...

The Cubs lost because they brought nervousness rather than an "eye of the tiger" drive to their series. What shocked me the most was that when they were sinking, their fans booed them. What is that all about? Those fans should be ashamed. I remember 2004 when the Red Sox were down to their last out and down 3 games in a 7 game series and we all know how that turned out. The Fenway Faithful are there as the extra man. Where were the Cubs' fans when the team needed them?

10-07-2008 @ 11:39AM

Bill Overholt said...

I think this time the Cubs won by 10 games and lost their edge like a dull knife. They played a lot of reserves which is wrong. Keep your regulars in there or they will lose their edge keep them sharp and play every day like they did during the season. Its plain psychology. A manager should know this.

10-05-2008 @ 6:15PM

THE FLASH OF N.J. said...

BOTTOM LINE HERE FOR A CHANGE : THE ANGELS AND THE CUBS WERE THE BEST TO TEAMS IN BASEBALL THE REG. SEASON OF 2008. BOTH ------- WILL N.O.T. ------- PLAY IN THE WORLD SERIES THIS YEAR. WHAT THEN ARE ALL THESE RACES ( AT THIS TIME 6 DIFF ONES --- 3 DIV. AND A WILD CARD IN EACH LEAGUE ) ALL ABOUT. THE ANSWER IS -----NOT----- " BASEBALL MY FRIENDS "...IS $$$-MONEY---$$$ ! FROM THE PLAYERS TO OWNERS TO THE SPONSORS , TO THE MEDIA , AND WHO DO YOU ALL THINK PAYS FOR THIS CIRCUS ???.... YES.... " US THE FANS "..... AS A YANKEE FAN AND LIVING IN N.Y. WITH THE METS THIS IS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. THE GAMBLERS HV GOT THE GAME BY THE BALLS W/H THE MEDIA MAKING STORYS ABOUT NOTHING TO MEAN SOMETHING. THE BEAUTY OF THE GAME GOT LOST SOMEWERE BETWEEN 1965 AND NOW , AND WILL NEVER , EVER , BE THE SAME AGAIN. THE GAME OF TY COBB HAS BECOME THE GAME OF BARRY " THE CHEATER " BONDS. THE HOME RUN IS EVERYTHING AND GOOD PITCHING , DEFENCE , AND HARD BALL BASEBALL IS 2ND MAYBE.

10-05-2008 @ 6:31PM

PART TWO THE FLASH said...

THE CUBS WERE THE BEST TEAM IN THE N.L. THIS YEAR ALL YEAR AND FOR THE MOST PART " SO WERE THE ANGELS ". AGAIN A PAYOFF FOR WHAT ??? SO THE T.V /// CABLE CAN SEE TIME TO MAKE MONEY. SO THE PLAYERS CAN ASK FOR MORE AND MORE $$$-M.O.N.E.Y.-$$$ AND GET IT. BUT THE FAN ( THE SHORT WORD FOR FANATIC OR FANATICISM ) IS ALWAYS PAYING THE BILL. A FIVE GAME SERIES TO A SEVEN GAME SERIES TO THE WORLD SERIES ( W/H ANOTHER POSS 7 GAMES ) DOESNT HELP THE TRUE CHAMPION BUT FOR HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE. BIG DEAL. THE BEST TEAM FOR THE REG. SEASON SHOULDNT HV TO PLAY ANY PLAY OFF GAMES AND " ONLY TWO TEAMS " SHD FIGHT IT OUT IN A 5 GAME SERIES TO PLAY THE TEAM W/H THE BEST RECORD IN THERE LEAGUE. AND THEN THE WORLD SERIES P.E.R.I.O.D.....SORRY CUBBIES AND ANGEL FANS FOR THIS NOT BEING " YOUR YEAR " , A YANKEEK FAN IST AND A BASEBALL FAN SECORD.....THE FLASH OF N.J.