Sports-related curses
Encyclopedia
A sports-related curse is a superstitious belief in 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.
to win the Stanley Cup
since 1940
. It was finally broken when the Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks
4-3 in 1994
.
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 before his retirement in 1994. The misfortune at Indianapolis
has notably extended to his sons Michael
and Jeff
, nephew John
, as well as grandson Marco
. It has effected to an indirect extent, his twin brother Aldo
, former car owners Paul Newman
and Carl Haas
, as well as Newman's successor Mike Lanigan at Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
.
Twice, when Michael Andretti's team won the Indianapolis 500, the driver subsequently defected to rival Chip Ganassi Racing
the following year: Dan Wheldon
(2005
) and Dario Franchitti
(2007
).
, who failed to win a World Series after 1918
, apparently due to the selling of Babe Ruth
to the New York Yankees
. Before the sale, the Red Sox won 4 titles in 7 years (1912–1918). After the sale, the Yankees had gone on to win 26 World Series Championships. The "curse" was broken when the Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals
, 4 games to 0 in the 2004 World Series
(before the Series, the Sox had come back from a 3-games-to-0 deficit to defeat the Yankees at Yankee Stadium for the American League pennant
).
was a 19th-century healer from Feakle in County Clare
remembered as a witch. Her curse or prophecy was said variously to afflict two hurling
teams which endured long droughts in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
: Clare
(1914
–1995
) and/or Galway
(1923
–1980
). The two counties played a famous semi-final in the 1932 Championship
: Clare won, but lost the final to Kilkenny
. After Clare's "curse" was broken in 1995, Billy Loughnane from Ennis
wrote to The Irish Times
:
" was cited as a reason for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
sports teams' failure to win championships 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
put a curse on the city.
When the final beam in the construction of the Comcast Center
(Philadelphia's tallest structure to date) was raised on June 18, 2007, iron workers of Local Union 401 attached a small figurine of William Penn to the beam in an attempt to break the curse. The following year, the Philadelphia Phillies
won the 2008 World Series
.
The city's sports teams have also lost in championship finals in years of presidential inaugurations, beginning with the 76ers' loss in the 1977 NBA Finals
and includes the Phillies' loss in the 2009 World Series
. During that span, each of the four city's teams have lost championships during such years twice.
played 100 years under a curse from 1906 to 2006. As the legend goes, the club moved from nearby Muntz Street
into its current location at St Andrew's, building the stadium on land that was being used by the Romani people. After they were forced to move, the angry Romani people put an 100-year hex on the stadium.
Throughout the years many Birmingham City FC
managers would try to remove the curse but with little success. Former manager Ron Saunders
tried to banish the curse in the 1980s
by placing crucifixes on floodlights and painting the bottom of his players’ boots red. Another manager, Barry Fry
, in charge from 1993 to 1996, urinated in all four corners of the pitch after a clairvoyant said it would break the spell. On Boxing Day
2006 the curse was finally lifted and on that day Birmingham City FC
celebrated a 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers FC
.
not having won an NFL Championship or a Super Bowl
since 1958. The Lions traded Layne to the Pittsburgh Steelers
, after which he said that the Lions wouldn’t win for fifty years. They did not even make an NFL Championship or Super Bowl, and had the worst cumulative record during those fifty years. At the conclusion of the 0-16 2008 Season
, former Lions players Corey Smith
and Jeff Komlo
died. With the first selection in the 2009 NFL Draft
, the Lions selected Quarterback
Matthew Stafford
, who attended Highland Park High School
, which was the same high school Layne attended. He even grew up in a house on the same street as Layne.
inability to win a Super Bowl
, Stanley Cup
, or, during the residency of the Buffalo Braves
, an NBA championship
. Those who believe in the Buffalo curse cite as examples the four consecutive Super Bowl
losses by the Buffalo Bills
from 1990–1993 (and their failure even to reach the playoffs since 1999), as well as the failure of the Buffalo Sabres
ever to win the Stanley Cup
(despite winning the Presidents' Trophy
for most regular-season points in 2006–07). The Bills, however, successfully won two American Football League
titles (1964 and 1965), the latter occurring just months before an agreement was reached to merge the AFL and the NFL (Bills owner Ralph Wilson initiated the talks to merge the two leagues, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
). In spite of that, it has been argued that this was achieved when the AFL was in its infancy as an upstart league, garnering little, if any, national attention before merging with the established NFL, and that even if they are considered to be at par, since there would be no Super Bowl until after the 1966 season, the Bills could be no greater than co-champions. There have been conflicting suggestions on how the Bills would have fared against the Green Bay Packers
or Cleveland Browns
, much as there have been disputes over how well the San Diego Chargers
would have done against the Bears in 1963, had the Super Bowl existed at that time. The earliest reference to the curse traces to 1921, when the city's first NFL team, the Buffalo All-Americans
, lost the NFL championship that year
to what is now the Chicago Bears
on a controversial tiebreaker. The curse does not extend to the city's fringe or minor league teams such as baseball's Buffalo Bisons
, lacrosse's Buffalo Bandits
, women's soccer's Western New York Flash or semi-pro football's Buffalo Gladiators, all of which won championships in their respective leagues. The Flash are arguably not affected by the alleged curse for another reason—although the team has its headquarters and training facilities in Buffalo, and originally planned to divide its home games between Buffalo and Rochester
, it played its entire home schedule during its inaugural 2011 season
in Rochester. The "curse" also does not extend to teams with players from Buffalo; in five years, four teams with Western New York players (Kevyn Adams
, Todd Marchant
, Brooks Orpik
and Patrick Kane
respectively) won the Stanley Cup between 2006 and 2010.
NFL franchise is allegedly suffering a curse 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 holds the NFL record for the longest championship drought which ended in the 2008–2009 season by hosting the Philadelphia Eagles
in the NFC Championship Game. However, Arizona did lose Super Bowl XLIII
to another Pennsylvania team: the Pittsburgh Steelers
(whose founder Art Rooney
supported Pottsville's claim to the title). The franchise also leads the NFL in the total number of losses (680 entering 2010
).
, the "Crucible Curse" refers to the fact that no first-time winner of the World Snooker Championship
has successfully defended his title since the event was first held at the Crucible Theatre
in Sheffield
in 1977. Of the 15 first-time champions in this era, only two have even made the final the following year, and five were eliminated in their first match. The "curse" can even be seen in the pre-Crucible era—the three first-time champions between the start of the championship's "modern era" in 1969 and its move to the Crucible all lost in their respective semifinal matches the next year.
by Colonel Harland Sanders (the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken) after fans of said team threw his statue into a canal while celebrating the Tigers' 1985 Japan Championship Series
.
had a curse that attempted to explain their failure to win the World Series
until , which was known as the Curse of Coogan's Bluff. It originated when the Giants left New York City
for San Francisco at the end of the 1957 season
. Fans at the Giants' home ballpark, the Polo Grounds
(located at a site in Harlem
called Coogan's Bluff), professed that the Giants would never win a World Series away from New York.
Since then, the Giants reached the World Series in , , and , and when they finally won in 2010
, it was in Arlington, not San Francisco. Furthermore, two Series games in San Francisco had very long delays. In the '62 Series
, Game 6 was postponed three days because of heavy rain and Game 3 of the '89 Series
was put on hold for ten days due to a massive earthquake.
was under a curse since 1948. There was a discussion this year, in a meeting held by team owners, about moving América into the professional league. Benjamín Urrea, one of the owners, was opposed to the idea, so he said famously "Let's them do with the team what they want... but I swear to God they will never be champions". He left the room, while the other owners laughed at him, and he never returned to the team. The team had to wait for 31 years to get its first professional title, in 1979. In 1980, journalist Rafael Medina and singer Antonio del Vivar performed an exorcising ritual on América's home field, to help the team to overcome the curse in the Copa Libertadores, the tournament that decides which team is the South American champion. After that performance, the team went to win five straight national titles, but, notwithstanding the seven more national championships that the team has obtained since then, some fans still believe the curse is alive, as América de Cali is famous for not having been able to win this South American title. The team has been four times the runner-up in Copa Libertadores. América de Cali is known as The Red Devils because the shield of the team sports a devil, with horns, tail and trident, which lead to some players masking their own shield with tape to overcome the curse, apparently to no avail. During Gabriel Ochoa twelve years tenure as coach the crest was removed from the uniform for personal religious reasons and, after returning to the uniforms, it was removed again in 1992. In 2010 the crest with the devil was revived and the team went into severe financial problems that moved the Colombian football authorities to ask the team to pay its debts if they wanted to play during the 2011 season.
, Thierry Henry
and David Beckham
.
, owner of the Chicago Bears
hired a cheerleading squad in 1977 known as the Honey Bears. When he died in 1983, he left the team to his daughter, Virginia Halas McCaskey. Virginia McCaskey did not like the cheerleaders at all because she saw them as "sex objects", and tried to have them disbanded, but the Honey Bears had a contract through the 1985 season. The Bears lost only one regular season game that year and won Super Bowl XX
, but the Honey Bears contract was not renewed. In spite of repeated attempts to bring back the Honey Bears, the idea has been killed by the organization, and the Bears have not won the Super Bowl since then. The last time the Bears appeared in the Super Bowl was Super Bowl XLI
. They were defeated by Peyton Manning
and the Indianapolis Colts
by a score of 29-17.
not making it to or winning a World Series
since . In Game One of the 1996 American League Championship Series
, Derek Jeter
of the New York Yankees
hit a fly ball to right field. Jeffrey Maier, a 12-year-old fan from Old Tappan, New Jersey
, reached over the fence to retrieve the ball, and, instead of ruling it as fan interference, umpire Rich Garcia
ruled it a home run, allowing the Yankees to win the game, the AL pennant, and eventually, the World Series
.
While this home run put a curse on the Orioles, other events have contributed to the curse, including:
curling tournament, Robert LaBonte, the skip of American team, accidentally kicked the stone belonging to the Canadian team at the end of the match. This put the match into an extra end, and Canada won one more point to win the championship. Canada did not win another World Championship until 1980, and this was said that LaBonte put a "curse" on Canada.
video games have tended to suffer setbacks or injuries immediately after appearing on the cover.
in 1927 by head coach Pete Muldoon
when he was fired, stating that they would never again finish in first place. The "curse" was first mentioned in print in 1943 by Toronto sportswriter Jim Coleman. They would not finish in first place in their division (1928–1937) or in the single-division NHL (after 1938) until 1967, the final season of the Original Six
era, despite winning the Stanley Cup three times since Muldoon supposedly "cursed" the team. However, immediately after this, Coleman admitted that he had completely fabricated the "curse" to break a writer's block.
begins with an informal par 3 competition. No winner of this has ever gone on to win the main tournament the same year.
in the Australian Football League
, used to explain why Melbourne has failed to win a premiership since it sacked Norm Smith
in the middle of the 1965 season. Smith had coached fourteen years and won six premierships (including during the previous season), but his relationship with the club grew strained. He attacked the club in the media following his dismissal, and claimed they would not recover, which has remained true thus far.
's 2002 autobiography
, Sheilas, Wogs and Poofters: During a trip to play against Rhodesia
(now Zimbabwe
) in the 1970 Mexico World Cup
qualifiers in Mozambique
, members of the Australian national soccer team (nicknamed the "Socceroos") including Warren consulted a witch doctor
preceding their game. The witch doctor buried bones near the goal-posts and cursed the opposition, and Australia went on to beat Rhodesia 3–1 in the decider. However, the move backfired when the players could not come up with the £1000 demanded by the witch doctor as payment and he subsequently cursed the team. Subsequently, the Socceroos failed to beat Israel
and did not qualify.
Whilst the curse is used as an explanation for failing to qualify for the World Cup for 32 years, including in the last match in the 1994
, 1998
and 2002
qualifications, the curse is used in particular reference to the failure to qualify for the 1998 World Cup
by drawing on aggregate against Iran
, despite leading 2–0 in the second half of the final match of qualification.
The curse was supposedly lifted by John Safran
during his 2004 TV series John Safran vs God. After reading the story in Warren's book, Safran travelled to Mozambique and hired a new witch doctor to channel the original to reverse the curse. The following year, the Socceroos not only qualified for the 2006 World Cup
, but reached the second round before being beaten by Italy
in Kaiserslautern
.
It is worth noting that their appearance in the 1974 FIFA World Cup
came after the supposed curse had been placed. However, they failed to score a goal in any of their three opening round matches, and were eliminated.
magazine
have tended to coincidentally suffer setbacks or injuries, or lose important games, shortly after appearing on the cover.
Curse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
" for many negative things, such as their inability to win a sports championship, or unexpected injuries.
Curse of 1940
The Curse of 1940 was a mythical explanation for the failure of the NHL's New York RangersNew York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
to win the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
since 1940
1940 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1940 Stanley Cup Final was a best-of-seven series between the New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs. New York would win the series 4–2 to win their third Stanley Cup. The Rangers would not win another for 54 years.-Paths to the Final:...
. It was finally broken when the Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
4-3 in 1994
1994 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1994 Stanley Cup Final was a best-of-seven playoff series contested between the Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers and Western Conference champion Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League...
.
Andretti curse
Since winning the Indianapolis 500Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
in 1969
1969 Indianapolis 500
Results of the 1969 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Friday, May 30, 1969.-Race schedule:-Jigger Sirois:On pole day, Saturday May 17, rain threatened to wash out the afternoon. At the time, the rules did not specifically provide for rain delay extensions during the pole round...
, auto racing legend Mario Andretti
Mario Andretti
Mario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...
was plagued with unexplainable bad luck in his efforts to win the great race for a second time before his retirement in 1994. The misfortune at Indianapolis
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....
has notably extended to his sons Michael
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
and Jeff
Jeff Andretti
Jeff Andretti is an American race car driver. He competed in CART, and was the series' Rookie of the Year in 1991.-Racing career:...
, nephew John
John Andretti
John Andretti is an American race car driver. He has won in CART, IMSA GTP, Rolex Sports Car Series and NASCAR. He was the last NASCAR driver to win a Cup race for the famous Petty Enterprises team.-Andretti family:...
, as well as grandson Marco
Marco Andretti
Marco Michael Andretti is an Italian American auto racing driver who drives the #26 car for Andretti Autosport in the IndyCar Series. He is the son of 1991 IndyCar World Series champion Michael Andretti and the grandson of racing legend Mario Andretti...
. It has effected to an indirect extent, his twin brother Aldo
Aldo Andretti
Aldo Andretti is the twin brother of Mario Andretti and the father of John Andretti and Adam Andretti. He is the uncle of Michael Andretti and Jeff Andretti, and great-uncle of Marco Andretti. Aldo and Mario are identical twins...
, former car owners Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
and Carl Haas
Carl Haas
Carl A. Haas is an American auto racing impresario. He co-owned the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team in the IndyCar Series with the late Paul Newman and Mike Lanigan. He also owned Carl A...
, as well as Newman's successor Mike Lanigan at Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
Newman/Haas Racing was a motor racing team competing in the IndyCar Series. The team operations were based in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Newman/Haas Racing was formed when actor Paul Newman and long-time racer Carl Haas, competitors in the Can-Am championship, each began looking to Champ Car racing...
.
Twice, when Michael Andretti's team won the Indianapolis 500, the driver subsequently defected to rival Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series. It is owned by businessmen Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. They have won 4 Champ Car, 3 Indy Racing League and 1 Grand-Am championships...
the following year: Dan Wheldon
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive "Dan" Wheldon was a British racing driver from England. He was the 2005 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series champion, and winner of the Indianapolis 500 in both 2005 and 2011...
(2005
2005 Indianapolis 500
The 89th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 29, 2005. It was the premier event of the 2005 IndyCar Series season, and the tenth Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League. Dan Wheldon won the race under a yellow flag...
) and Dario Franchitti
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti is a Scottish racing driver. He formerly competed in the CART series before switching to the IndyCar Series where he was 2007 champion, and won the rain-shortened 2007 Indianapolis 500. Franchitti is also a former NASCAR driver for Chip Ganassi Racing, competing...
(2007
2007 Indianapolis 500
The 91st Indianapolis 500 ran on Sunday, May 27, 2007 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was the 12th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and marked the fifth race of the 2007 IndyCar Series season just after the 2007 Kansas Lottery Indy 300 and just before the 2007 ABC Supply...
).
Curse of the Bambino
Some allege that there was a curse placed on the Boston Red SoxBoston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, who failed to win a World Series after 1918
1918 World Series
The 1918 World Series featured the Boston Red Sox, who defeated the Chicago Cubs four games to two. The Series victory for the Red Sox was their fifth in five tries, going back to . The Red Sox scored only nine runs in the entire Series; the fewest runs by the winning team in World Series history...
, apparently due to the selling of Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
to the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
. Before the sale, the Red Sox won 4 titles in 7 years (1912–1918). After the sale, the Yankees had gone on to win 26 World Series Championships. The "curse" was broken when the Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
, 4 games to 0 in the 2004 World Series
2004 World Series
The 2004 World Series was the Major League Baseball championship series for the 2004 season. It was the 100th World Series and featured the American League champions, the Boston Red Sox, against the National League champions, the St. Louis Cardinals...
(before the Series, the Sox had come back from a 3-games-to-0 deficit to defeat the Yankees at Yankee Stadium for the American League pennant
2004 American League Championship Series
The 2004 American League Championship Series was the Major League Baseball playoff series to decide the American League champion for the 2004 season. It was played between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, at Fenway Park and the original Yankee Stadium, from October 12 to October 20, 2004...
).
Curse of Biddy Early
Biddy EarlyBiddy Early
Biddy Early was a traditional Irish healer who helped peasants. She acted against the wishes of the local tenant farmer landlords and Catholic priests and was accused of witchcraft.-Childhood:...
was a 19th-century healer from Feakle in County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
remembered as a witch. Her curse or prophecy was said variously to afflict two hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
teams which endured long droughts in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....
: Clare
Clare GAA
The Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Clare GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Clare. The county board is also responsible for the Clare inter-county teams....
(1914
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1914
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1914 was the 28th series of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition...
–1995
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1995
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1995 was the 109th staging of Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition...
) and/or Galway
Galway GAA
The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...
(1923
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1923
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1923 was the 37th series of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. Galway won the championship, beating Limerick 7-3 to 4-5 in the final.-Format:...
–1980
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1980
-Miscellaneous:* For the first time since 1969 the Leinster final sees a pairing other than Kilkenny and Wexford.* The Leinster final sees Offaly defeat Kilkenny to take their very first provincial title....
). The two counties played a famous semi-final in the 1932 Championship
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1932
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1932 was the 46th series of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition...
: Clare won, but lost the final to Kilkenny
Kilkenny GAA
The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...
. After Clare's "curse" was broken in 1995, Billy Loughnane from Ennis
Ennis
Ennis is the county town of Clare in Ireland. Situated on the River Fergus, it lies north of Limerick and south of Galway. Its name is a shortening of the original ....
wrote to The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
:
Curse of Billy Penn
The "Curse of Billy PennCurse of Billy Penn
The Curse of Billy Penn was an alleged curse used to explain the failure of major professional sports teams based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to win championships since the March 1987 construction of the One Liberty Place skyscraper, which exceeded the height of William Penn's statue atop...
" was cited as a reason for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
sports teams' failure to win championships since the Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
swept the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
in the 1983 NBA Finals
1983 NBA Finals
The 1983 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1982–83 NBA season.-Overview:The final piece of the Philadelphia 76ers' championship puzzle was completed before the 1982-83 season when they acquired center Moses Malone from the Houston Rockets...
. Some fans believe that the city's breaking a gentlemen's agreement
Gentlemen's agreement
A gentlemen's agreement is an informal agreement between two or more parties. It may be written, oral, or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or through mutually beneficial etiquette. The essence of a gentlemen's agreement is that it relies upon the honor of the parties...
in 1987 that no skyscraper could be higher than the statue of William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
on the top of the spire of City Hall
Philadelphia City Hall
Philadelphia City Hall is the house of government for the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At , including the statue, it is the world's second-tallest masonry building, only shorter than Mole Antonelliana in Turin...
put a curse on the city.
When the final beam in the construction of the Comcast Center
Comcast Center (office building)
Comcast Center is a skyscraper in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 58-story, tower is the tallest building in Philadelphia and the fifteenth tallest building in the United States. Originally called One Pennsylvania Plaza when the building was first announced in 2001, the Comcast Center...
(Philadelphia's tallest structure to date) was raised on June 18, 2007, iron workers of Local Union 401 attached a small figurine of William Penn to the beam in an attempt to break the curse. The following year, the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
won the 2008 World Series
2008 World Series
The 2008 World Series was the 104th World Series between the American and National Leagues for the championship of Major League Baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies as champions of the National League and the Tampa Bay Rays, as American League champions, competed to win four games out of a possible...
.
The city's sports teams have also lost in championship finals in years of presidential inaugurations, beginning with the 76ers' loss in the 1977 NBA Finals
1977 NBA Finals
The 1977 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1976-77 NBA season. The Portland Trail Blazers of the Western Conference played against the Philadelphia 76ers of the Eastern Conference, with the 76ers holding home-court advantage. Their 4 regular season meetings had been...
and includes the Phillies' loss in the 2009 World Series
2009 World Series
The 2009 World Series was the 105th edition of Major League Baseball's championship series. The best-of-seven playoff was contested between the Philadelphia Phillies, champions of the National League and defending World Series champions, and the New York Yankees, champions of the American League...
. During that span, each of the four city's teams have lost championships during such years twice.
Curse of Birmingham City FC
English football side Birmingham City FCBirmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
played 100 years under a curse from 1906 to 2006. As the legend goes, the club moved from nearby Muntz Street
Muntz Street
Muntz Street is the popular name of a former association football stadium situated in the Small Heath district of Birmingham, England, taken from the street on which it stood. During its lifetime the ground was known as Coventry Road; the name "Muntz Street" is a more recent adoption. It was the...
into its current location at St Andrew's, building the stadium on land that was being used by the Romani people. After they were forced to move, the angry Romani people put an 100-year hex on the stadium.
Throughout the years many Birmingham City FC
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
managers would try to remove the curse but with little success. Former manager Ron Saunders
Ron Saunders
Ron Saunders is a retired English football player and former successful manager. He remains the only manager to have taken charge of Aston Villa, Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion, normally bitter rivals....
tried to banish the curse in the 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
by placing crucifixes on floodlights and painting the bottom of his players’ boots red. Another manager, Barry Fry
Barry Fry
Barry Francis Fry is an English football manager. A former Manchester United apprentice as a winger, his playing career involved brief spells with Bolton Wanderers, Luton Town and Leyton Orient, before he retired prematurely due to injury.He has managed Dunstable Town, Bedford Town, Maidstone...
, in charge from 1993 to 1996, urinated in all four corners of the pitch after a clairvoyant said it would break the spell. On Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
2006 the curse was finally lifted and on that day Birmingham City FC
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
celebrated a 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers FC
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
.
Curse of Bobby Layne
This curse is the supposed explanation of the Detroit LionsDetroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
not having won an NFL Championship or a Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
since 1958. The Lions traded Layne to the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, after which he said that the Lions wouldn’t win for fifty years. They did not even make an NFL Championship or Super Bowl, and had the worst cumulative record during those fifty years. At the conclusion of the 0-16 2008 Season
2008 NFL season
The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 1, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over the...
, former Lions players Corey Smith
Corey Smith
Corey Dominique Smith was an American football defensive end. He was originally signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2002...
and Jeff Komlo
Jeff Komlo
William Jeffrey "Jeff" Komlo was an American professional football quarterback who played for the Detroit Lions, the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. He was born in Cheverly, Maryland.-Football career:...
died. With the first selection in the 2009 NFL Draft
2009 NFL Draft
The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft consisted of two rounds on the first day starting at 4:00...
, the Lions selected Quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Matthew Stafford
Matthew Stafford
John Matthew Stafford is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Lions first overall in the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Georgia....
, who attended Highland Park High School
Highland Park High School (University Park, Texas)
Highland Park High School is located in University Park, Texas.Highland Park is a part of the Highland Park Independent School District. It serves all of the city of University Park, most of the town of Highland Park, and portions of Dallas.-History:...
, which was the same high school Layne attended. He even grew up in a house on the same street as Layne.
Buffalo Sports Curse
The Buffalo curse is an explanation for Buffalo'sBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
inability to win a Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
, Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
, or, during the residency of the Buffalo Braves
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
, an NBA championship
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
. Those who believe in the Buffalo curse cite as examples the four consecutive Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
losses by the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
from 1990–1993 (and their failure even to reach the playoffs since 1999), as well as the failure of the Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
ever to win the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
(despite winning the Presidents' Trophy
Presidents' Trophy
The Presidents' Trophy is an award presented by the National Hockey League to the team that finishes with the most points in the league during the regular season. If two teams tie for the most points, then the trophy goes to the team with the most wins. The winning team is also awarded C$350,000...
for most regular-season points in 2006–07). The Bills, however, successfully won two American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
titles (1964 and 1965), the latter occurring just months before an agreement was reached to merge the AFL and the NFL (Bills owner Ralph Wilson initiated the talks to merge the two leagues, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
). In spite of that, it has been argued that this was achieved when the AFL was in its infancy as an upstart league, garnering little, if any, national attention before merging with the established NFL, and that even if they are considered to be at par, since there would be no Super Bowl until after the 1966 season, the Bills could be no greater than co-champions. There have been conflicting suggestions on how the Bills would have fared against the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
or Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, much as there have been disputes over how well the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
would have done against the Bears in 1963, had the Super Bowl existed at that time. The earliest reference to the curse traces to 1921, when the city's first NFL team, the Buffalo All-Americans
Buffalo (NFL)
Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under three different names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s...
, lost the NFL championship that year
1921 NFL season
The 1921 APFA season was the 2nd regular season of the National Football League, which was then called the American Professional Football Association....
to what is now the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
on a controversial tiebreaker. The curse does not extend to the city's fringe or minor league teams such as baseball's Buffalo Bisons
Buffalo Bisons
The Buffalo Bisons are a minor league baseball team based in Buffalo, New York. They currently play in the International League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets...
, lacrosse's Buffalo Bandits
Buffalo Bandits
The Buffalo Bandits are a team in the National Lacrosse League . They play at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. The Bandits played in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1992 to 1997, until the MILL turned into the NLL in 1998....
, women's soccer's Western New York Flash or semi-pro football's Buffalo Gladiators, all of which won championships in their respective leagues. The Flash are arguably not affected by the alleged curse for another reason—although the team has its headquarters and training facilities in Buffalo, and originally planned to divide its home games between Buffalo and Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, it played its entire home schedule during its inaugural 2011 season
2011 Women's Professional Soccer season
The 2011 Women's Professional Soccer season is the third season for the WPS, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States...
in Rochester. The "curse" also does not extend to teams with players from Buffalo; in five years, four teams with Western New York players (Kevyn Adams
Kevyn Adams
Kevyn W. Adams is a retired professional ice hockey center in the National Hockey League who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Phoenix Coyotes and the Chicago Blackhawks, and is currently the Associate Coach for the Buffalo Sabres...
, Todd Marchant
Todd Marchant
Todd Marchant is a retired American professional ice hockey player who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League . He played nine seasons with the Edmonton Oilers and almost six seasons with the Anaheim Ducks, along with just over a season with the Columbus Blue Jackets and a game with the...
, Brooks Orpik
Brooks Orpik
Brooks Orpik is an American professional ice hockey defenseman, an alternate captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League . His brother, Andrew, was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres organization and is also currently in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization...
and Patrick Kane
Patrick Kane
Patrick Timothy Kane, Jr. is an American professional ice hockey right winger currently playing for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League . The Blackhawks selected him with the first overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.-Minor and junior:Kane attended the St...
respectively) won the Stanley Cup between 2006 and 2010.
Cardinals football curse
The CardinalsArizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
NFL franchise is allegedly suffering a curse by the citizens of Pottsville, Pennsylvania
Pottsville, Pennsylvania
Pottsville is the only city in and the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 15,549 at the 2000 census. The city lies along the west bank of the Schuylkill River, north-west of Philadelphia...
for undeservedly claiming the 1925 NFL championship from the Pottsville Maroons
Pottsville Maroons
The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1920, they went on to play in the National Football League for four seasons, from 1925–1928...
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 holds the NFL record for the longest championship drought which ended in the 2008–2009 season by hosting the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the NFC Championship Game. However, Arizona did lose Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
to another Pennsylvania team: the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
(whose founder Art Rooney
Art Rooney
Arthur Joseph "Art" Rooney, Sr. , often referred to as "The Chief", was the founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers American football franchise in the National Football League.-Family history:...
supported Pottsville's claim to the title). The franchise also leads the NFL in the total number of losses (680 entering 2010
2010 NFL season
The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League.The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14–9.Tom Brady,...
).
Cleveland sports curses
Cleveland is particularly known for not winning any major sports championships since 1964.Crucible Curse
In snookerSnooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
, the "Crucible Curse" refers to the fact that no first-time winner of the World Snooker Championship
World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England...
has successfully defended his title since the event was first held at the Crucible Theatre
Crucible Theatre
The Crucible Theatre is a theatre built in 1971 and located in the city centre of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. As well as theatrical performances, it is home to the most important event in professional snooker, the World Snooker Championship....
in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
in 1977. Of the 15 first-time champions in this era, only two have even made the final the following year, and five were eliminated in their first match. The "curse" can even be seen in the pre-Crucible era—the three first-time champions between the start of the championship's "modern era" in 1969 and its move to the Crucible all lost in their respective semifinal matches the next year.
Curse of the Colonel
This curse was supposedly cast on the Hanshin TigersHanshin Tigers
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly...
by Colonel Harland Sanders (the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken) after fans of said team threw his statue into a canal while celebrating the Tigers' 1985 Japan Championship Series
Japan Series
, or is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a seven-game series between the winning clubs of the league's two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League....
.
Curse of Coogan's Bluff
The San Francisco GiantsSan Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
had a curse that attempted to explain their failure to win the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
until , which was known as the Curse of Coogan's Bluff. It originated when the Giants left New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for San Francisco at the end of the 1957 season
1957 Major League Baseball season
The 1957 Major League Baseball season involved the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants playing their final seasons as New York-based franchises before their moves to California for the following season, leaving New York without a National League team until the birth of the Mets in...
. Fans at the Giants' home ballpark, the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
(located at a site in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
called Coogan's Bluff), professed that the Giants would never win a World Series away from New York.
Since then, the Giants reached the World Series in , , and , and when they finally won in 2010
2010 San Francisco Giants season
The San Francisco Giants are an American Major League Baseball team. Their 2010 season marked their 128th year in Major League Baseball, and their fifty-third year in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season...
, it was in Arlington, not San Francisco. Furthermore, two Series games in San Francisco had very long delays. In the '62 Series
1962 World Series
The 1962 World Series matched the defending American League and World Series champions New York Yankees against the National League champion San Francisco Giants, who had won their first NL pennant since 1954 and first since moving from New York in 1958, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in a...
, Game 6 was postponed three days because of heavy rain and Game 3 of the '89 Series
1989 World Series
†: Game 3 was originally slated for October 17 at 5:35 pm; however, it was postponed when an earthquake occurred at 5:04 pm.-Game 1:Saturday, October 14, 1989 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California...
was put on hold for ten days due to a massive earthquake.
Curse of the Garabato
The Colombian football team América de CaliAmérica de Cali
Corporación Deportiva América, commonly known as América de Cali or simply América is a Colombian football club based in Cali. They currently play in the Categoría Primera A, the top-flight professional league in the country....
was under a curse since 1948. There was a discussion this year, in a meeting held by team owners, about moving América into the professional league. Benjamín Urrea, one of the owners, was opposed to the idea, so he said famously "Let's them do with the team what they want... but I swear to God they will never be champions". He left the room, while the other owners laughed at him, and he never returned to the team. The team had to wait for 31 years to get its first professional title, in 1979. In 1980, journalist Rafael Medina and singer Antonio del Vivar performed an exorcising ritual on América's home field, to help the team to overcome the curse in the Copa Libertadores, the tournament that decides which team is the South American champion. After that performance, the team went to win five straight national titles, but, notwithstanding the seven more national championships that the team has obtained since then, some fans still believe the curse is alive, as América de Cali is famous for not having been able to win this South American title. The team has been four times the runner-up in Copa Libertadores. América de Cali is known as The Red Devils because the shield of the team sports a devil, with horns, tail and trident, which lead to some players masking their own shield with tape to overcome the curse, apparently to no avail. During Gabriel Ochoa twelve years tenure as coach the crest was removed from the uniform for personal religious reasons and, after returning to the uniforms, it was removed again in 1992. In 2010 the crest with the devil was revived and the team went into severe financial problems that moved the Colombian football authorities to ask the team to pay its debts if they wanted to play during the 2011 season.
Curse of Gillette
Marketing experts have highlighted the "curse of Gillette", given the mishaps that happen to sports stars which are associated with the brand, most notably Tiger WoodsTiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No...
, Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...
and David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
.
Curse of the Honey Bears
George HalasGeorge Halas
George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...
, owner of the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
hired a cheerleading squad in 1977 known as the Honey Bears. When he died in 1983, he left the team to his daughter, Virginia Halas McCaskey. Virginia McCaskey did not like the cheerleaders at all because she saw them as "sex objects", and tried to have them disbanded, but the Honey Bears had a contract through the 1985 season. The Bears lost only one regular season game that year and won Super Bowl XX
Super Bowl XX
Super Bowl XX was an American football championship game played on January 26, 1986 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1985 regular season...
, but the Honey Bears contract was not renewed. In spite of repeated attempts to bring back the Honey Bears, the idea has been killed by the organization, and the Bears have not won the Super Bowl since then. The last time the Bears appeared in the Super Bowl was Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...
. They were defeated by Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the...
and the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
by a score of 29-17.
Curse of Jeffrey Maier
This curse, originally coined in the book The Worst of Sports, is the supposed explanation of the Baltimore OriolesBaltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
not making it to or winning a World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
since . In Game One of the 1996 American League Championship Series
1996 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 9, 1996 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkThe first game of the series is most notable for the infamous "Jeffrey Maier Incident." With the Yankees trailing 4–3 in the bottom of the eighth, rookie Derek Jeter hit a fly ball to deep right field off Orioles reliever...
, Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter
Derek Sanderson Jeter is an American baseball shortstop who has played 17 years in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. A twelve-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, Jeter's clubhouse presence, on-field leadership, hitting ability, and baserunning have made him a central...
of the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
hit a fly ball to right field. Jeffrey Maier, a 12-year-old fan from Old Tappan, New Jersey
Old Tappan, New Jersey
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 5,750 people. The population density was 1,725.7 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the borough was 74.8% Caucasian, 22.2% Asian, 0.7% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.6% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanics...
, reached over the fence to retrieve the ball, and, instead of ruling it as fan interference, umpire Rich Garcia
Rich Garcia
Richard Raul Garcia is a former umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1975 to 1999...
ruled it a home run, allowing the Yankees to win the game, the AL pennant, and eventually, the World Series
1996 World Series
-Game 1:Sunday, October 20, 1996 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkGame 1 and Game 2 were originally scheduled for Saturday, October 19 and Sunday, October 20, respectively. Rain on October 19, however, washed out Game 1. The schedule was moved up one day, with Game 1 and Game 2 rescheduled for...
.
While this home run put a curse on the Orioles, other events have contributed to the curse, including:
- The relocation of the Baltimore Colts to IndianapolisBaltimore Colts relocation controversyThe Baltimore Colts relocation controversy was the decision by then-Colts owner Robert Irsay to move the National Football League team from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana completely unannounced and in the wee hours of March 29, 1984 after years of fighting over a new stadium to...
in 1984; - The Orioles' season starting 21-game losing streak in 19881988 Major League Baseball seasonIn , the Major League Baseball season ended with the underdog Los Angeles Dodgers shocking the Oakland Athletics, who had won 104 games during the regular season, in the World Series. The most memorable moment of the series came in Game 1, when injured Dodger Kirk Gibson hit a dramatic pinch-hit...
; - The loss of Dennis MartinezDennis MartínezJosé Dennis Martínez Emilia , nicknamed "El Presidente" , is a former Major League Baseball pitcher...
, Jose MesaJosé MesaJosé Ramón Nova Mesa [MAY-sah] is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. His nickname was "Joe Table," the literal translation of his name in the English language....
and Eddie MurrayEddie MurrayEddie Clarence Murray , nicknamed "Steady Eddie", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and designated hitter. He was known as one of the most reliable and productive hitters of his era. Murray is regarded as one of the best switch hitters ever to play the game...
to the Cleveland IndiansCleveland IndiansThe Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
, which anticipated the Cleveland Browns relocation controversyCleveland Browns relocation controversyThe Cleveland Browns relocation controversy was the decision by then Browns owner Art Modell to move the National Football League team from its longtime home of Cleveland, Ohio to Baltimore, Maryland for the 1996 NFL season...
; - The relocation of the Montreal ExposMontreal ExposThe Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
to Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, to become the Washington NationalsWashington NationalsThe Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
, and the Orioles' opposition to the move; - Rafael PalmeiroRafael PalmeiroRafael Palmeiro Corrales is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and left fielder. Palmeiro was an All-American at Mississippi State University before being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1985...
and Sammy SosaSammy SosaSamuel Peralta "Sammy" Sosa is a Dominican former professional baseball right fielder. Sosa played with four Major League Baseball teams over his career which spanned from 1989-2007....
testifying to Congress on steroid use in baseball - The Orioles' collapse during the season.
Curse of LaBonte
In the 1972 Air Canada Silver Broom1972 Air Canada Silver Broom
-Draw 2:-Draw 3:-Draw 4:-Draw 5:-Draw 6:-Draw 7:-Tiebreaker:-Playoffs:-Semifinals:-Final:-The Curse of LaBonte:...
curling tournament, Robert LaBonte, the skip of American team, accidentally kicked the stone belonging to the Canadian team at the end of the match. This put the match into an extra end, and Canada won one more point to win the championship. Canada did not win another World Championship until 1980, and this was said that LaBonte put a "curse" on Canada.
Madden curse
Players who appear alone on the covers of the Madden NFLMadden NFL
Madden NFL is an American football video game series developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon for EA Sports. The game series is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, a well-known former Super Bowl-winning coach of the Oakland Raiders and color commentator...
video games have tended to suffer setbacks or injuries immediately after appearing on the cover.
Curse of Muldoon
A curse allegedly placed on the Chicago BlackhawksChicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
in 1927 by head coach Pete Muldoon
Pete Muldoon
Pete Muldoon , born Linton Muldoon Treacy, was a Canadian ice hockey pioneer in the western United States, particularly known for bringing a Stanley Cup championship to Seattle, Washington...
when he was fired, stating that they would never again finish in first place. The "curse" was first mentioned in print in 1943 by Toronto sportswriter Jim Coleman. They would not finish in first place in their division (1928–1937) or in the single-division NHL (after 1938) until 1967, the final season of the Original Six
Original Six
The Original Six is a term for the group of six teams that composed the National Hockey League for the 25 seasons between the 1942–43 season and the 1967 NHL Expansion. These six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and the...
era, despite winning the Stanley Cup three times since Muldoon supposedly "cursed" the team. However, immediately after this, Coleman admitted that he had completely fabricated the "curse" to break a writer's block.
Par 3 curse
The Masters Tournament held annually at the Augusta National Golf ClubAugusta National Golf Club
Augusta National Golf Club, located in Augusta, Georgia, is a famous men's golf club. Founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts and designed by Alister MacKenzie on the site of a former indigo plantation, the club opened for play in January 1933. Since 1934, it has played host to the annual...
begins with an informal par 3 competition. No winner of this has ever gone on to win the main tournament the same year.
Curse of Norm Smith
A curse on the Melbourne Football ClubMelbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
, used to explain why Melbourne has failed to win a premiership since it sacked Norm Smith
Norm Smith
Norman Walter "Norm" Smith was an Australian rules football player and coach in the Victorian Football League. After 200 games as a player with Melbourne and Fitzroy, Smith began a twenty year coaching career, including a fifteen year stint at Melbourne...
in the middle of the 1965 season. Smith had coached fourteen years and won six premierships (including during the previous season), but his relationship with the club grew strained. He attacked the club in the media following his dismissal, and claimed they would not recover, which has remained true thus far.
Socceroos witch doctor curse
In a story told in Johnny WarrenJohnny Warren
John Norman Warren, MBE, OAM was an Australian football player, coach, administrator, writer and broadcaster. He was known as Captain Socceroo for his passionate work to promote the game in Australia...
's 2002 autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, Sheilas, Wogs and Poofters: During a trip to play against Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
(now Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
) in the 1970 Mexico World Cup
1970 FIFA World Cup
The 1970 FIFA World Cup, the ninth staging of the World Cup, was held in Mexico, from 31 May to 21 June. The 1970 tournament was the first World Cup hosted in North America, and the first held outside South America and Europe. In a match-up of two-time World Cup champions, the final was won by...
qualifiers in Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, members of the Australian national soccer team (nicknamed the "Socceroos") including Warren consulted a witch doctor
Witch doctor
A witch doctor originally referred to a type of healer who treated ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. It is currently used to refer to healers in some third world regions, who use traditional healing rather than contemporary medicine...
preceding their game. The witch doctor buried bones near the goal-posts and cursed the opposition, and Australia went on to beat Rhodesia 3–1 in the decider. However, the move backfired when the players could not come up with the £1000 demanded by the witch doctor as payment and he subsequently cursed the team. Subsequently, the Socceroos failed to beat Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and did not qualify.
Whilst the curse is used as an explanation for failing to qualify for the World Cup for 32 years, including in the last match in the 1994
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
, 1998
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
and 2002
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
qualifications, the curse is used in particular reference to the failure to qualify for the 1998 World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
by drawing on aggregate against Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, despite leading 2–0 in the second half of the final match of qualification.
The curse was supposedly lifted by John Safran
John Safran
John Safran is an Australian documentary maker and radio broadcaster, known for combining humour with explorations into religion and other issues...
during his 2004 TV series John Safran vs God. After reading the story in Warren's book, Safran travelled to Mozambique and hired a new witch doctor to channel the original to reverse the curse. The following year, the Socceroos not only qualified for the 2006 World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
, but reached the second round before being beaten by Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
.
It is worth noting that their appearance in the 1974 FIFA World Cup
1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded...
came after the supposed curse had been placed. However, they failed to score a goal in any of their three opening round matches, and were eliminated.
Sports Illustrated cover curse
Players who appear on the cover of the Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
have tended to coincidentally suffer setbacks or injuries, or lose important games, shortly after appearing on the cover.