Sports-related curses
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A sports-related curse is the effective action of some power or evil, that is used to explain the failures or misfortunes of specific sports teams, players, or even cities. Teams, players, and cities often cite a "curse" for many negative things, such as their inability to win a sports championship, or unexpected injuries.
[edit] 1993 Runner-Up Curse
In all the major American team sports, the runner-up from the 1993 season has not even played for the championship since then. These teams included the Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia Phillies, Buffalo Bills (playoffs in January 1994), University of Michigan basketball, and University of Notre Dame football. In the ensuing years, Notre Dame has not won a single postseason game, and Buffalo has not won any playoff game beyond a lone wildcard contest in 1995.[1] The Phillies did not make the playoffs until 2007 when they were swept by the Colorado Rockies.
[edit] Andretti Curse
Since winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1969, auto racing legend Mario Andretti was plagued with unexplainable bad luck in his efforts to win the great race for a second time until his retirement in 1994. The misfortune at Indianapolis has notably extended to his sons Michael and Jeff, nephew John, as well as grandson Marco.
Twice, when Michael Andretti's team won the Indianapolis 500, the driver subsequently defected to rival Chip Ganassi Racing the following year.
[edit] Australian Soccer Team Curse
During a trip to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) during the 1969 World Cup qualifiers, it is claimed that members of the Australian soccer team, the Socceroos, consulted a witch doctor preceding their game. However the move backfired and subsequently the team was cursed by the disgruntled witch doctor. The story was covered by John Safran during his 2004 TV series 'John Safran vs God'. He hired a witch doctor to reverse the curse. It is said to have been successful as the Socceroos qualified the following year for the 2006 World Cup. It is worth noting, however, that their appearance in the 1974 FIFA World Cup came after the supposed curse had been placed. [2]
[edit] Buffalo Sports Curse
The Buffalo Curse is a mythical explanation for Buffalo’s inability to win a Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, or any other major league sports championship in the United States, if not the entire world[2]. Those who believe in the Buffalo Curse [3] cite as examples the four consecutive Super Bowl losses by the Buffalo Bills from 1990-1993, and their failure to even reach the conference playoffs in subsequent years as well as the failure of the Buffalo Sabres to ever win the Stanley Cup (This despite the President's Trophy for most points in 2006-07).
[edit] Cardinals Football Curse
The Cardinals NFL franchise is suffering through a curse [3] by the citizens of Pottsville, Pennsylvania for undeservedly claiming the 1925 NFL championship from the Pottsville Maroons who were stripped of their title by the NFL in one of the greatest controversies in sports history. The curse will supposedly only be lifted when the championship is returned to Pottsville and to the correct shade of red team. The Cardinals team currently holds the NFL record for the longest championship drought and along with the Houston Texans (founded in 2002) are the only team not to appear in a conference championship game.
[edit] Chicago baseball curse
There has been a superstition of a curse that strikes Chicago’s baseball teams, the Cubs and the White Sox from winning a championship[4].
- The Curse of the Billy Goat is used to explain the failures of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, who have not won a World Series championship since 1908, and a National League pennant since 1945.
- The Curse of the Black Sox was a superstition or scapegoat cited as a reason for the failure of the Chicago White Sox to win the World Series from 1917 until 2005. It was finally broken when the White Sox won the World Series in 2005.
[edit] Cleveland Sports Curse
There is an alleged curse on the city of Cleveland, Ohio that prevents them from winning a major sports championship. To this date, it has been arguably the biggest sports championship drought in any U.S. city. The last Cleveland title came in 1964 when the Browns won the NFL Championship. The Cleveland Indians last won the World Series in 1948 and the Cleveland Cavaliers have never won the NBA Finals, most recently losing in 2007 to the San Antonio Spurs. Some of their most infamous failures have been dubbed a title, often with a single word preceded by an ominous "The." Amongst locals and even sports fans in general, The Catch, The Drive, The Fumble, and The Shot all evoke images of Cleveland sports futility. Less famous outside of Cleveland, Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, is commonly referred to as The Error (briefly known as The Mesa).
Red Right 88 does not share the nomenclature, but the heartache is the same.
The Cavaliers' recent loss to the San Antonio Spurs was not due to a single play or misplay but simply a superior opponent, yet the sting of the loss still resonates in a city searching for its first major championship since 1964, known as The Sweep
Only time will tell if the 2007 American League Championship Series will be reduced to either "The Collapse"[5] (for the series loss to the Boston Red Sox, despite being up three games to one) or "The Stop Sign" (due to Kenny Lofton being held up by third base coach Joel Skinner, as he likely would have scored the tying run in the late innings of Game 7) in Cleveland folklore.
Cleveland's misery is so detailed, that in 2004, ESPN named Cleveland the most tortured sports city.[6]
The cause for Cleveland's misery is not 100% agreed upon, although some trace it to either Rocky Colavito's departure to the Detroit Tigers in 1960, or Jim Brown's stunning retirement from the NFL in 1965 to produce the World War II film The Dirty Dozen.
[edit] Curse of 1940
The Curse of 1940 was placed on the New York Rangers for 54 years. The curse was broken in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, with a 4 games to 3 victory against the Vancouver Canucks.
[edit] Curse of Barry Bonds
The Pittsburgh Pirates won the National League Eastern Division title three straight seasons from 1990 to 1992, coming within one out of a trip to the World Series in the latter year. During those three years, Barry Bonds won two National League MVP and three Silver Slugger Awards. After the 1992 season, Bonds left for free agency and signed with the San Francisco Giants. After the move, Bonds would win five more MVP awards and become the first player since Babe Ruth to hold both the single-season and career home run records. Meanwhile, since Bonds left Pittsburgh, the Pirates have had 15 consecutive losing seasons through 2007, one shy of the major-league record.
[edit] Curse of Ben Tillman
The Curse of Ben Tillman (sometimes the "Chicken Curse" by Clemson fans) is said to have been caused by South Carolina's white supremacist Governor Ben Tillman, who put the curse on the University of South Carolina at Columbia and also The Citadel in an attempt to shut both schools down. Tillman, a farmer, wanted to turn the state into an agricultural haven, and helped establish Clemson University, an agricultural school, and Winthrop College, a women's teacher college (since coeducational). To make his new schools superior to the schools he wanted shut down, he demoted the school in Columbia as part of his plan.
The Curse is more related to the Gamecocks, who have won just one NCAA championship (women's track and field 2002), while the Tigers have won multiple NCAA titles.
Notable Curse of Ben Tillman moments:
- A 21-game losing streak in football in 1998-99.
- From the first football game played in 1892, the team waited until January 2, 1995 to win its first postseason game (eight appearances); that record of futility (on games) has since been tied, and broken.
- The inability to beat Clemson in consecutive football games since the Gamecocks' only Atlantic Coast Conference championship (1969). Clemson has won more ACC titles.
- Three times in the 2000's the Gamecocks were within one win of making a postseason game (2002-03, 2007). The team failed to qualify for postseason in all three situations.
- The men's basketball team yet to win an NCAA tournament game since 1973, and no wins in the "open" era of the late 1970's. Rival Clemson made their first appearance in 1980 (has never won an automatic bid) but has had more tournament wins.
- The 1996-97 men's basketball team won the Southeastern Conference regular season championship, and gain a #2 seed, only to fall in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Mellon Arena to Coppin State.
- The Gamecocks had made it to the College World Series Championship, only to lose three times (1975, 1977, 2002).
- The 2000 baseball team had been the #1 seed, only to fall in the Super Regionals to Louisiana-Lafayette. Rival Clemson qualified to Omaha (ironically, to fall to Louisiana-Lafayette; teams in Lafayette had beaten the state's teams in baseball and ECHL hockey that year.)
[edit] Curse of Don Mattingly
In the six seasons from 1976 to 1981, the New York Yankees won five division titles, four American League pennants and two World Series championships. In 1982, future Yankee team captain Don Mattingly began his 14-year career. During those 14 years, the Yankees failed to win the division every single year, and played in the postseason only once as the American League's first wild-card team in 1995. In the first eight seasons following Mattingly's retirement after the 1995 season, the Yankees won the division seven times, the AL pennant six times, and the World Series four times. Later, he joined the Yankees as their bench coach in 2004 and since have not been to the World Series despite making the playoffs each season since 1995. They also were famous in 2004 because of their 3-0 American League Championship Series lead that was blown to their archnemesis, the Boston Red Sox, who would eventually win the World Series that year by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0, and end another Yankees-related curse, the Curse of the Bambino (see below). Since the blown ALCS, they have not gotten past the American League Divisional round, being knocked out by, in order, the Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers, and Cleveland Indians.
[edit] Curse of NHL Expansion
Some believe that several teams have been cursed since the NHL expanded from only 6 teams to 12 in 1967. The Toronto Maple Leafs have not won a Stanley Cup championship since 1967. For the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings, 1967 was the season that they joined the NHL, implying that both the Blues and Kings have never won the Stanley Cup. The Leafs case however is more infamous. Similarly, some believe that the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks are cursed as well. Each team has not won a Stanley Cup championship since 1970, three years after the NHL's initial expansion. For both, 1970 was the season that each team joined the NHL, implying that each team has never won the Stanley Cup and both have gone 0-2 in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Ironically, the expansion of the early 1990's has not been as cursed as the other expansion situations. The four NHL franchises added between the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons all have made a Stanley Cup Final: Florida in 1996, Tampa Bay in 2004, and Anaheim and Ottawa competed against each other in 2007.
[edit] Curse of the Bambino
There was a curse alleged on the Boston Red Sox major league baseball team, who failed to win a World Series after 1919, apparently due to the trading of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. Before the trade, the Red Sox won 4 titles in 7 years (1912-1918). After the trade, the Yankees have gone on to win 26 World Series Championships. The curse seems to have been lifted when the Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 0 in the 2004 World Series (in which before the World Series, the Sox came back from behind to defeat the Yankees at Yankee Stadium). In 2007 The Red Sox came back once again in a 3-1 deficit to the Clevland Indians to beat them 4-3 and then went on to sweep the Colorado Rockies to once again win the World Series.
[edit] Curse of Billy Penn
There is an alleged curse on the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[7], which has prevented the city's sports teams from winning any titles since the Philadelphia 76ers swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1983 NBA Finals. Some fans believe that the city's breaking a gentlemen's agreement in 1987 that no skyscraper could be higher than the statue of William Penn on the top of the spire of City Hall is the reason for all their misery. Although Philadelphia has since added several super-tall skyscrapers, the "insult" to the city's founder is what many fans believe to be the source of the curse.
The alleged curse was reportedly broken in 2005, when the Philadelphia Phantoms won the Calder Cup in the American Hockey League; because of the NHL lockout, it was regarded as the highest level of professional hockey in that season. However, it could be disputed as some say the curse has no effect on any emerging or minor league teams based in Philadelphia.
[edit] Curse of Detroit
The Curse of Detroit is a more recent Stanley Cup-related curse, penned by Hockey Night in Canada host Ron MacLean. In every NHL season (until 2006-07) since the Detroit Red Wings won the 2002 Stanley Cup championship, each team that has defeated Detroit in the playoffs has gone on to the Stanley Cup Finals, and on each occasion, has lost to the Eastern Conference team in seven games. In the 2003 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks seemed to create the curse when they won the Western Conference Quarterfinals series against Detroit 4-0 and eventually ended up in the Stanley Cup Finals, losing the series to the New Jersey Devils 4-3. In the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Calgary Flames won the Western Conference Semifinals series against Detroit 4-2 and eventually ended up in the Stanley Cup Finals, losing the series to the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3. Following the 2004-05 NHL lockout, in the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Edmonton Oilers won the Western Conference Quarterfinals series against Detroit 4-2 and eventually ended up in the Stanley Cup Finals, losing the series to the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3. However, during the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Detroit, the top seeded team in the Western Conference, lost in the Western Conference Final to the Anaheim Ducks 4-2, but Anaheim went on to defeat the Ottawa Senators to win the Stanley Cup. It appears as if Anaheim broke the curse they created in three seasons.
[edit] Curse of Len Bias
There is an alleged curse that has kept the Boston Celtics from winning the NBA championship since 1986. In the 1985-1986 NBA season, the Celtics won the NBA title with one of the best regular season home records in NBA history, and star-player Larry Bird was putting-up career numbers in several categories. In the off-season, due to a trade with the Seattle SuperSonics two years earlier, Boston held the #2 overall pick in the NBA Draft and selected Maryland Terrapins star Len Bias. But less than 48 hours after selection, Bias died of an apparent heart attack, from a cocaine overdose. Since Bias' death, Boston has advanced to the NBA Finals only once, the ensuing season, where the Los Angeles Lakers would win the series, 4 games to 2, especially memorable for Magic Johnson's "baby sky hook" to win Game 4 in Boston). Several infamous moments include Magic's skyhook, Reggie Lewis' heart attack and death in 1993, the demolition of Boston Garden in 1998, the 15-67 record in 1997, losing the #1 pick in the 1997 NBA Draft to the San Antonio Spurs (San Antonio's pick would be Tim Duncan), losing the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals to the New Jersey Nets, legendary coach Red Auerbach's death in 2006, a franchise-record 18 game losing streak in the 2006-2007 NBA season, and although having the 2nd worst record in the NBA during the 2006-2007 NBA Season, the Celts unexpectedly received the 5th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, and trading it away for three players.
[edit] Curse of Marty McSorley
There is an alleged curse that has prevented all NHL teams in Canada from winning in the Stanley Cup Finals, since 1993. In the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, the Los Angeles Kings, already up 1 game to 0 against the Montreal Canadiens, were leading 2-1 in the third period of Game 2, with 1:38 remaining. Montreal head coach Jacques Demers felt suspicious of Kings defenseman Marty McSorley's stick. Referees inspected the stick, and called it "too curved." McSorley was penalized for two minutes, and later, Montreal's Eric Desjardins scored on the ensuing powerplay, sending the game into overtime, in which the Canadiens won. Eventually, Montreal won the cup in 5 games, the last time a team from Canada would do so. Since 1993, the Vancouver Canucks lost to the New York Rangers in 1994, the Calgary Flames lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004, the Edmonton Oilers fell victim to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006, and the Ottawa Senators lost to the Anaheim Ducks in 2007.
[edit] Curse of Nolan Ryan
In 1972, the New York Mets traded Nolan Ryan and three other players to the California Angels for third baseman Jim Fregosi. Fregosi would last less than two full seasons in New York, while Ryan would go on to a Hall of Fame career, setting the major league record for no-hitters with seven, the last one coming in 1991 at age 44. The alleged curse is similar to the Curse of the Bambino: because the team traded away baseball's all-time no-hit king, no Mets pitcher has ever thrown a no-hitter. If the curse is not lifted by August 2017, the Mets would break the Philadelphia Phillies' record of 8,886 consecutive regular-season games played without a no-hitter.
[edit] Houston Sports Curse
There is an alleged curse on the city of Houston, Texas[8], which has a dismal history when it comes to world championships. The origin of the curse may be from the city's approval for the first ever use of AstroTurf in pro sports history. The city's baseball team, the Houston Astros, has appeared to date in only one World Series, in 2005 when the team was swept by the Chicago White Sox (see Curse of the AstroTurf for the specifics of the Houston Astros baseball curse). Although the Houston Oilers won back-to-back AFL titles in 1960 and 1961, neither the Oilers or the city's expansion Houston Texans have won a conference title, much less a Super Bowl. Some argue that teams that leave the city of Houston are also infested with the curse, as the former Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans) went to the Super Bowl in 2000, but was one yard short from sending the game into overtime. The Oilers were also defeated by the Buffalo Bills in the greatest comeback ever in NFL history during the wild-card round of the 1993 NFL Playoffs and in the late 1970's while having the league's leading rusher and MVP in Earl Campbell only to get beaten badly in back to back seasons at Pittsburgh in the conference championship, Pittsburgh also shocked the more talented Oilers a decade later by taking the team in an overtime loss in the playoffs. The curse was broken (possibly temporarily) when the Houston Rockets, won two NBA titles in 1994 and 1995, though being an NBA team never to have played on the AstroDome's AstroTurf, the Rockets may be exempt from the curse. Some also argue the curse is believed to have subsequently reappeared, possibly due to the trade of team legend Hakeem Olajuwon in 2001 to the Toronto Raptors, or the move in 1996 by owner Bud Adams's Houston Oilers to Tennessee. Proof of the curse reappearing may also include the failure of the Rocket's getting past the first round of the playoffs in the 2000's, despite having Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady on the roster. The curse may also have some affect on the city's new football team Houston Texans, which have yet to make a playoff appearance and a Super Bowl appearance and victory. Since the Houston Dynamo of MLS have moved to Houston, its seems that the curse of Houston may be over with winning championships in their first two seasons, although this may be disputed as the curse may not have any effect on emerging or minor leagues based in the city, such as the Houston Comets the WNBA team has won the first 4 championships, and the Houston Aeros have won in 1999 and 2003.
[edit] The "Krukow Kurse"
The "Krukow Kurse" is a hex upon the San Francisco Giants used to explain their more than fifty year failure to win the World Series. The alleged source of the curse is Mike Krukow (a former pitcher and current broadcaster for the Giants). Prior to the beginning of each season, Krukow states in one of his preseason radio appearances his usual optimistic opinion that the Giants have a chance to win the World Series. Once Krukow stops making such predictions, says the legend, the Giants will actually win the World Series. Part of the lore of the Krukow Kurse arises from the fact that Krukow was originally drafted by and played for the Chicago Cubs (a team that is itself hexed by the Curse of the Billy Goat). The Curse of the Billy Goat indicates that former Cubs players who move on to other teams will inevitably curse the new team (the Ex-Cubs Factor). The Krukow Kurse allegedly pertains not only to the Giants' World Series prospects, but to individual players' performance in specific games. For example, in a June 8, 2007 inter-league game between the Giants and the Oakland A's, Krukow remarked that the performance of Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum (who had not yet allowed a hit in the game) was one that could result in a no-hitter. Almost immediately after the comment, an A's batter "broke up" the no-hit bid by hitting a single.
[edit] Lombardi Trophy Limitation
As postulated by noted NFL luminary, Mr. Aslam Rawoof, it states: "No team nor head coach shall ever hold aloft the Vince Lombardi trophy as NFL world champions more than 2 consecutive seasons." In other words, no NFL team may ever win more than 2 Super Bowls IN A ROW, and neither may an individual head coach. Also, a head coach cannot escape the curse merely by moving to another team after winning a Super Bowl.
This curse is 37 years in progress, beginning after Lombardi's death in 1970 and the NFL's immediate decision to rename the Super Bowl trophy after him in commemoration.
[edit] Madden Curse
Players who appear on the covers of the Madden NFL video games have tended to suffer setbacks or injuries immediately after appearing on the cover.
[edit] Marty Schottenheimer curse
The Marty Schottenheimer Curse is a sports hex that prevents teams that have Marty Schottenheimer as their head coach from winning in the playoffs (or even going to) the Super Bowl.
[edit] San Diego Sports Curse
There is an alleged curse on the city of San Diego, California[9], who has the dubious distinction of being the largest United States city to have not won a Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals or any other Major League sports championship in the United States or possibly the world. The city’s two teams, the San Diego Padres and the San Diego Chargers have never won a World Series or a Super Bowl. San Diego, also, has had two NBA teams (The Rockets and The Clippers), neither of which ever won a championship. Both NBA teams have moved to different cities, some might say this is part of the curse. Some fans believe that the trading of wide-out Lance Alworth has been the cause of all misery in America’s Finest City.[10]
[edit] Seattle Sports Curse
There is an alleged curse on the city of Seattle[11] , who has not won a major sports championship since 1979 (although their women’s basketball team has won a championship in 2004). The Seattle Metropolitans won the Stanley cup in 1917 (the first American team to do so), the Seattle Super Sonics (NBA) won a title in 1979, and the Seattle Storm (WNBA) won in 2004. Neither the Seahawks nor the Mariners have ever won a championship. Seattle nearly won a championship when the Seahawks represented the city in Super Bowl XL in 2006, though they fell by a score of 21-10 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Citizens of Seattle believe the curse does in fact exist, due to the impending relocation of the Sonics and the Sonics' drafting of Kevin Durant in the 2007 NBA Draft.
[edit] Sports Illustrated Cover Curse
Players who appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated magazine have tended to, coincidentally, suffer setbacks or injuries, immediately after appearing on the cover, or the team they play for will lose a very important game or series.
[edit] Tampa Bay Curse
The Tampa Bay Curse is a sports hex that affects NFL teams that lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. No team that has lost to Tampa Bay in the regular season has gone on to win the Super Bowl that same season. This may be related to the historical bad luck and poor performance of the franchise, and it is yet unclear whether or not their win in Super Bowl XXXVII has relieved the effects of the curse.
The Buccaneer team lived through several perceived curses itself. For the better part of its existence, the team had never won a road playoff game, never won a game under 40°F (4°C), and had never returned a kickoff for a touchdown. As of 2007, all three of those distinctions had been lifted.
In a related issue, some local residents believe that Tampa Bay franchises are cursed to endure years of futility, as has been the case for the area's three major sports teams[12]. The Buccaneers are the only NFL team since World War II to complete their schedule without winning a single game (0-14 in 1976), eventually setting a league record for consecutive loses by dropping their first 26 contests over two seasons. The Bucs also hold the league record for consecutive seasons with double-digit losses: 12 years in a row, from 1983-1994.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are the only team in NHL history to lose 50 or more games in four consecutive seasons (1997-2001). And the Tampa Bay Rays finished the season in last place in their division nine out of the first ten years of their existence, owning the worst record in all of major league baseball four times. [13]
[edit] Utah Sports Curse
Some people believe, in Salt Lake City and Utah, that their major and minor sports teams have sports championship curses. The NBA's Utah Jazz lost back-to-back NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998, where Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls stated, "Utah will never win a championship." Afterwards, the University of Utah Men's Basketball team also lost the NCAA Championship game that same year. The Salt Lake Bees have also lost the PCL championships in 1994, 2000 and again in 2003. Today, most of the Utah teams now lose in the first round of the playoffs. This could also be related to a non-sports curse, as the heavily-cursed film series, called the Poltergeist, was filmed mostly in Utah; one of the scenes was shot in the parking lot of the Energy Solutions Arena, the home court of the Utah Jazz.
[edit] See also
- Nelson (cricket)
- Crucible Curse
- Curse of LaBonte
- Curse of Muldoon
- Curse of the Colonel
- Ex-Cubs Factor
- Rainbow Jersey
