1. The Curse of the Bambino (Boston Red Sox)
The Curse of the Bambino is one of the most famous sports curses in history. After the Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1919, the team didn’t win a World Series for 86 years. Fans blamed Ruth’s departure for their misfortune, and the curse was finally broken in 2004 when the Red Sox won the championship. Sometimes, selling a legend doesn’t end well.
2. The Curse of the 2nd Overall Pick (NFL Draft)
There’s an eerie trend in the NFL draft where the player selected as the second overall pick often doesn’t live up to expectations. This curse has affected players like Ryan Leaf and Joey Harrington, who faced career struggles despite being top draft picks. It’s an odd phenomenon, but many fans argue that being second is almost worse than being a “bust.”
3. The Curse of the Billy Goat (Chicago Cubs)
Another legendary sports curse is the Curse of the Billy Goat. In 1945, a tavern owner named Billy Sianis was kicked out of a Cubs game for bringing his goat into the stadium. He reportedly cursed the team, saying they’d never win another World Series. It took 71 years, but the Cubs finally broke the curse in 2016, showing that even a goat can have some power.
4. The Curse of the Black Sox (Chicago White Sox)
In 1919, eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the World Series in exchange for money from gamblers. As a result, the team was banned from baseball, and the Sox didn’t win another championship until 2005. Some say the scandal left the team cursed, and the long wait for redemption was the result of their tarnished reputation.
5. The Curse of the Great Bambino’s Bat (New York Yankees)
This one’s an interesting twist on the Curse of the Bambino. In 1973, the Yankees’ famed Babe Ruth bat was mysteriously stolen from the team’s museum. For years, the Yankees struggled and couldn’t seem to catch a break. Finally, in 2003, the bat was recovered, and the Yankees started performing better. Was the bat’s return linked to their success? Some fans believe so.
6. The Curse of the Ozzie (St. Louis Cardinals)
During the 1980s, rumors spread that a fan had cursed the St. Louis Cardinals after an incident with star player Ozzie Smith. After a series of disappointing seasons, the team didn’t get a championship until 2006, when they finally overcame the so-called “curse.” Was it just bad luck, or was the curse real? Either way, it seemed to last for a long time.
7. The Madden Curse
Every year, NFL fans debate who will grace the cover of the Madden video game, but many players fear it. The so-called Madden Curse has plagued athletes who’ve been featured on the cover. Players like Daunte Culpepper, Michael Vick, and Peyton Hillis have suffered significant injuries or career downturns after appearing on the game’s cover. There’s no scientific explanation, but the pattern is hard to ignore.
8. The Curse of the Bambino (Boston Celtics)
Yes, this one’s a twist! The Boston Celtics had their own version of the Bambino curse, involving the team’s loss of their star player, Bill Russell, to injury in the early 60s. The curse plagued the Celtics’ hopes of repeating their success until they broke it in the 1980s, finally securing another title.
9. The Curse of the Catfish (Tennessee Titans)
In the 1999 NFL season, the Tennessee Titans were on the brink of making history, but an unexpected “curse” appeared. A mysterious catfish was thrown onto the field during a playoff game, and the Titans lost shortly after. While it’s likely just a strange coincidence, fans swear it was the catfish’s curse that led to the heartbreak.
10. The Curse of the Iron Throne (Washington Nationals)
This one’s a more recent tale, but it’s wild. The Nationals, despite a long history of talent, couldn’t seem to make it past the postseason until 2019. Fans blamed their lack of success on a “curse” tied to their years of failure and frustration. But in 2019, they finally broke through, earning their first World Series championship. Was it the curse lifting? Maybe.
11. The Curse of the 4th Quarter (Dallas Cowboys)
The Dallas Cowboys, known as “America’s Team,” have had their fair share of championship glory, but there’s one strange curse that seems to follow them: The Curse of the 4th Quarter. In the 1990s, when they were on top of the NFL, the Cowboys had a habit of losing key games in the final quarter, especially during playoff seasons. Fans started noticing a pattern where they’d collapse under pressure in the game’s final moments. Many attributed this to a “curse” from a series of heart-breaking losses in the postseason.
12. The Curse of the Orange Hat (Miami Dolphins)
The Miami Dolphins have had their share of highs and lows, but one strange superstition is tied to an orange hat. In the early 1970s, the Dolphins were on top of the NFL world, winning back-to-back Super Bowls and finishing the 1972 season as the only NFL team to go undefeated. However, after their legendary coach, Don Shula, was famously seen wearing an orange hat during one of their playoff victories, it became an eerie symbol of bad luck. Fans believed the hat somehow jinxed the team, as Miami went through a long period of underachievement and failure in the years that followed.
13. The Curse of Nelson Doubleday (New York Mets)
The Curse of Nelson Doubleday is a superstition tied to a bitter ownership dispute between Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon in the early 2000s. Doubleday, an heir to the Doubleday Publishing fortune, was a co-owner of the New York Mets, but after selling his stake in 2002, the team’s fortunes seemed to take a downturn. Following the ownership change, the Mets experienced a series of playoff disappointments, including heartbreaking losses.
