Cursed: Chicago Cubs

Might as well start off with a bang. This is probably baseball's most famous curse since the annulment of the Curse of the Bambino in 2004. What has perpetuated this Curse? Is it the self-loathing Cub fan that is always waiting for the worst to happen regardless the circumstance? Was it Joe Buck constantly beating it into the ground during the 2003 NLCS? As always the stats don't lie.

THE CURSE OF THE BILLY GOAT

Before the Curse: 2 World Series Championships ('07, '08) , 8 World Series runners-up.

After the Curse: 0 World Series appearances, 6 playoff appearances, swept three times.

THE CURSE:

The Billy Goat curse was supposedly placed on the Cubs in 1945 when Billy Goat Tavern owner Billy Sianis was asked to leave Game 4 of the World Series game against the Detroit Tigers at the Cubs' home ground of Wrigley Field because his pet goat's odor was bothering other fans. He was outraged and declared, "Them Cubs, they aren't gonna win no more." The Cubs lost the game, lost the Series, and have not been back since. As such, Sianis' threat has been interpreted to mean that there would never be another World Series game won at Wrigley Field.

EVIDENCE OF THE CURSE:

• 0 playoff appearances from 1946 to 1983. Squandering the great career of "Mr. Cub" Ernie Banks.
• Fall of '69 : Beginning August 19th, the Cubs blow a 9.5 game lead over the "Amazin' Mets" and ultimately finish the season 8 games out of first place.
• The Summer Swoon : The Cubbies started the 1977 season off strong; going 47-22 over the first two months of the season. However, after the All-Star break, the bottom fell out and the team went 20-40 after July 31st and finished in 4th place. This June swoon became a trend as, over the next few years, the Cubs consistently started off strong and finished poorly.
• Heartbreak in '84 : After finally reaching the playoffs in 1984, expectations were high for a strong Cubs team that boasted Ryne Sandberg, Lee Smith, Larry Bowa, Jody Davis and Rick Sutcliffe. The team had won the division easily; finishing with a 96-65 record, a solid 6.5 games ahead of the 2nd place Mets. In the NLCS, the Cubs easily won the first two games at Wrigley Field against the San Diego Padres. With wins of 13-0 and 4-2, the Cubs needed to win only one game of the next three in San Diego to make to the World Series. But the Curse reared its ugly head. The Cubs lost Game 3 & 4 and in Game 5 the Cubs took a 3–0 lead into the 6th inning, and a 3–2 lead into the seventh with Sutcliffe (who won the Cy Young Award that year) still on the mound. Then, Leon Durham had a sharp grounder go under his glove. This critical error helped the Padres win the game 6-3, with a 4-run 7th inning.
• Sammy Sosa leads Cubs to post-season in '98. He hits .182 in a three game sweep to the Braves. Later found to be juicing.
• Bartman Game 2003. No explanation necessary.
• High priced failure : Despite winning back-to-back division titles in 2007 and 2008, the Cubs are swept from the playoffs by the Diamondbacks and Dodgers, respectively. Interestingly enough, the The elimination by Arizona came on October 6, the same date that the goat appeared at Wrigley Field in 1945.

Conclusion: CURSED.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF: According to three interviews with Sam Sianis, William Sianis' nephew-in-law, the Curse of The Billy Goat can be dispelled only by the Chicago Cubs organization's showing a sincere fondness for goats; allowing them into Wrigley Field because they genuinely want to and not simply for publicity reasons.

So there you go.

Project #1 : Baseball Curses

I realize there is no such thing as a curse. Especially in the sports context. It is laughable to think that a current player even knows or cares of some obscure event that occurred to his team decades ago. Does anyone think Manny Ramirez cared at all about Babe Ruth when he was slugging the Red Sox to the World Series title in 2004? Of course not. Manny doesn't care about anything. But that doesn't mean that curses aren't fun. Because they are. And every team in Major League Baseball except one currently has one hanging over their collective heads.



In my first little writing project, I am going to look at the current curses afflicting 29 MLB teams. Some are better than others. Not all teams can point to a day in 1945 when a farm animal was ejected from the stadium has the harbinger of their present doom. Others must look to the release of a popular player, relocation of the team or some other serious affront to the baseball gods to see why their team is now cursed. The stats, generously provided by baseball-reference.com, do not lie.

Thus, to paraphrase the great Eli Cash, 'well, everyone knows that curses don't exist but what this site presupposes is...maybe they are?'

Commencement

“There are two things wrong with almost all legal writing. One is its style. The other is its content.”
– Fred Rodell, Yale Law Professor.

As a recently graduated law student/bar exam passer/attorney, nearly all of the writing that has come across my computer screen over the past 4 years has been legal writing. Memos, briefs, position papers, exam answers, etc., etc. All in the dreaded IRAC format and all very technical. While most of this writing has been quite interesting, it was never particularly enjoyable to write.

Thus this site is a gift to myself to explore all types of things that have nothing to do with the law. Posts will follow my interests, such as sports and entertainment, but also observe many of qualities of legal writing, including the important of quality research. This site is just a place for me to ramble and expound on ideas that I find interesting. So apologies in advance...