Baseball Curses: Myth or Reality?

What is it with all of these curses in baseball? Every time you turn around, it seems that there is another baseball curse. There is the Curse of the Bambino, the Billy Goat Curse, and now the supposed Curse of A-rod. How come you never hear of curses in other sports, like basketball or football? I mean, there's no Hex of the Hawks, even though they haven't won an NBA Championship since moving to Atlanta in 1968. And there isn't any Spell of the Saints, even though New Orleans has never made it to the Super Bowl in the history of their franchise. There is the alleged Madden Curse in football, which supposedly affects NFL players who are on the cover of Madden's video game. However, that curse focuses on individual players and not entire franchises.

Why isn't there a Jinx of the Jets, considering some of their misfortune over the years in the NFL? I'm a Jets fan, and believe me, they have suffered through some bad luck ever since Joe Namath left Broadway. In 1998, the Jets led the Broncos 10-0 in the third quarter of the AFC Championship, before their Super Bowl hopes vanished in a 23-10 loss. Then, back in 1986, the Jets appeared jinxed again. They started the season 10-1, but then lost five straight games to finish 10-6. They made the playoffs, but wound up losing in improbable fashion against the Browns in double overtime. If this were baseball, someone would have surely tied these losses to some sort of curse. But it's football, so there's no curse.

Okay, since there are no curses in other sports, how about these baseball curses? First, there was the Curse of the Bambino, which was created when the Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees back in 1920. That supposed curse lasted for over eighty years, until the Red Sox finally won the World Series again in 2004. This baseball curse may be a myth, but the Red Sox did suffer through some devastating and improbable losses over the decades. If it wasn't a curse, it sure as heck was some horrific bad luck.

Now that the curse in Boston has been reversed, let's move on to the baseball curse in Chicago. This curse is called the Curse of the Billy Goat. This baseball curse was supposedly created when a fan tried to take his goat to see the Cubs play in the 1945 World Series. Even though both the fan and the goat had a ticket, the ushers ejected both from the stadium. The Chicago Cubs have not been back to the World Series ever since. This baseball curse seems like just another myth, right? Well, in 2003, it seems the Curse of the Billy Goat struck again. The Cubs were beating the Marlins 3-0 and were only five outs away from winning the NLCS and earning a trip to the World Series. It looked like the NLCS was in the bag for the Cubs, until the curse reared its ugly head. A foul ball was hit that looked like another out, until a fan interfered, causing the Cubs to miss the catch. The Cubs then went on to blow the lead, lose the game, and eventually the whole series. The Curse of the Billy Goat was still alive; if you believe in curses, that is.

So, now there is supposedly the Curse of A-rod. This baseball curse surrounds Alex Rodriguez, and supposedly follows him wherever he goes. It is true that Seattle and Texas had great years right after trading him. In fact, A-Rod and the Yankees collapsed and blew a 3-0 series lead to the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS. However, I think this baseball curse is a bit of a stretch. After all, the Yankees are back in the postseason this year. Instead of the Curse of A-Rod, they should call this one the postseason futility of A-Rod. All it will take is for A-Rod to have a good postseason for a change and the Curse of A-Rod will be no more. Besides, I think Steinbrenner's wallet is too big for any curse to strike the Yankees. We will have to wait and see.

So, are baseball curses myth or reality? It all depends on who you talk to. I, for one, think baseball curses are all a bunch of hogwash. In fact, I hope the Cubs can win the World Series very soon, to end all the talk about the supposed Curse of the Billy Goat. But then again, who am I to say? After all, I'm just a Yankee fan hoping to get another World Series win in 2006. There is no Curse of A-Rod. But until the Yankees win the World Series with A-Rod, I'll continue to wear this strand of garlic around my neck. That should break any baseball curse, right?