Do you believe in Curses?

Chicago does.. the championship banner has not hung in Wrigley Field, since 1908. Who can we thank for this? Over the years of baseball heartbreak, fans know where to cast the blame.

The oldest of all the Cubbies tragedies is the “Curse of the Billy Goat.” After a smelly goat named “Murphy” was bothering fans during the 1945 World Series, the owner of the goat, Billy Sianis, and his pet were kicked out of the stadium.  He was enraged, famously saying “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more.” The Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908 and never have been back to one until this year.

In 1969, it was all smiles for the team and city of Chicago. The same was true when a cute black cat appeared behind the ondeck circle.  The cat began to run around the Cubs third baseman, Ron Santos, and then began to walk in front of the dugout, staring down the whole bench. The Cubs were 84-52 in first place, before the “Curse of the Black Cat” caused them to tank and miss the playoffs.

The latest of Chicago’s sorrow was the Steve Bartman play. In 2003, the Cubs were ahead during Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. With the Cubs up 3-2 in the series and up 3-0 in the game, it looked like the series was over. Then in the 8th inning of, a foul ball hit by Florida Marlin Luis Castillo went up in the air. The ball seemed like an easy out for the outfielder, Moisés Alou. Much to the outrage of the fans and Alou, the hit was disrupted by Steve Bartman.The base runner went on to score. This gave the Marlins momentum and they won the game 8-3. The Cubs went on to lose the seventh game and lost the series.

With the “Lovable Losers” in the World Series for the first time since 1945, a stellar lineup and excellent pitching gives the Cubs the best chance to win the World Series 108 years. Though a part of the curse has been broken in reaching the Series, many Cubs fans are looking for the title. The Cubs are playing another curse-riddled team, the Cleveland Indians. For one of these teams, a curse will finally be broken. It will be interesting to see if the Cubs can come out on top.