Lifting the Billy Goat Curse of the Cubs
One, Two, Goat Leg!
There have been numerous efforts to lift the curse of the Billy Goat against the Cubs.
I helped a little a few days before the Cubs victory. Our newest Sarasota Sister City is a nice town, Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland. They made a presentation about their town last week.
The City of Zurich was besieging Rapperswil Castle. They were trying to starve the city into submission.
To show the Zurich Army that they were not starving they threw a number of goat legs over the castle wall,
shouting out in Swiss German:
One, Two, Goat Leg!
It probably sounds better in the original Swiss-German. It worked and Zurich gave up and Rapperswil was saved.
Ever since Rapperswil hosts an annual event where the City leaders throw dausages, bread rolls and Biberli (a sweet) to the children from the castle wall when the children say,
One, Two, Goat Leg!
There have been numerous efforts to lift the curse of the Billy Goat against the Cubs.
I helped a little a few days before the Cubs victory. Our newest Sarasota Sister City is a nice town, Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland. They made a presentation about their town last week.
The City of Zurich was besieging Rapperswil Castle. They were trying to starve the city into submission.
To show the Zurich Army that they were not starving they threw a number of goat legs over the castle wall,
One, Two, Goat Leg!
It probably sounds better in the original Swiss-German. It worked and Zurich gave up and Rapperswil was saved.
“One, Two, Goat Leg!”
I thought, maybe it would work on the Cubs Billy Goat curse. So I thought and said and hummed the catchy phrase before and during the games. It worked!!! The same as when I keep the elephants away by whistling.
I thought, maybe it would work on the Cubs Billy Goat curse. So I thought and said and hummed the catchy phrase before and during the games. It worked!!! The same as when I keep the elephants away by whistling.
No Goats were injured in this effort
___________________________
"hundreds of children gather in the main square on Shrove Tuesday. At exactly 15:15 the windows of the town hall open and a fanfare sounds. A council member asks, “Sind alli mini Buebe doo?” (Swiss German: Are all my boys here?), and the answer is given: “Joo! Eis - Zwei - Geissebei !” (Yes, one, two, goat-leg!), whereupon sausages, bread rolls and Biberli (a sweet) are dropped down to the children on the Hauptplatz (main square). "
"Following the so-called Austeilete, in the evening there is intense activity, and the crowning of the carnival, all Guggenmusik (carnival marching bands) gathered on Lindenhof at Schloss Rapperswil to celebrate a roaring concert."
Previous Attempts to break the curse
Prior to his death on October 22, 1970, Billy Sianis himself attempted to lift the curse. Sam Sianis, his nephew, has gone to Wrigley Field with a goat multiple times in attempts to break the curse, including on Opening Day in 1984 and again in 1989, both years in which the Cubs went on to win their division. In 1994 Sam Sianis went again, with a goat, to stop a home losing streak, and in 1998 for the Wild Card tie-breaker game, which the Cubs won.[14]
In 2003 (the Chinese zodiac's Year of the Goat), a group of Cubs fans headed to Houston with a billy goat named "Virgil Homer" and attempted to gain entrance to Minute Maid Park, home of the Astros, division rivals of the Cubs at the time.[15] After they were denied entrance, they unfurled a scroll, read a verse and proclaimed they were "reversing the curse." The Cubs won the division that year and then came within five outs of playing in the World Series, but were undone by the Florida Marlins' eight-run rally immediately following the Steve Bartman incident. The Cubs then lost the following game and with it the series. (The Marlins went on to win the World Series against the New York Yankees.) Further salting the wound, the Astros earned their first World Series berth two years laterand their crosstown rival the Chicago White Sox won the series.
On February 26, 2004, at the Harry Caray Restaurant in downtown Chicago, the Bartman baseball was electrocuted in an attempt to break the curse, leaving nothing but a heap of string behind.
In another bizarre twist, it was reported that a butchered goat was hung from the Harry Caray statue on October 3, 2007, to which The Chicago Sun-Times noted: "If the prankster intended to reverse the supposed billy goat curse with the stunt, it doesn't appear to have worked."[16] While the Cubs did win the NL Central division title in 2007 and 2008, they were swept in the first round of the postseason in both years: by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2007 and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008. The elimination by Arizona came on October 6, the same date that the goat appeared at Wrigley Field in 1945.[17]
In 2008, a Greek Orthodox priest sought to end the curse during the 2008 playoffs with a spraying of holy water in and around the Cubs dugout to no avail.[18]
The act was repeated before the home opener in 2009, this time a goat's butchered head being hung from the statue. The act was futile as the Cubs were eliminated from postseason contention on September 26, 2009.[19]Cubs fans have also brought in priests that have blessed the field, stadium, and dugout.
On April 1, 2011, a social enterprise called Reverse The Curse, dedicated to bringing innovations to poverty by giving goats to families in developing countries, was initiated.[20] The goats provide the family with milk, cheese, and alternative income to help lift them out of poverty. Reverse The Curse has expanded into reversing the "curses" that afflict the world's children in education and obesity.
On February 25, 2012, a group of five Chicago Cubs fans calling themselves Crack the Curse set-out on foot from Mesa, Arizona (home to the Cubs' spring training facilities) to Wrigley Field. They brought along a goat named Wrigley whom they believed would be able to break the Curse of the Billy Goat upon arrival at Wrigley Field. Additionally, they attempted to raise $100,000 for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.[21]
On April 10, 2013, a severed goat's head was delivered to the Cubs in a possible effort to lift the curse on the team. It was addressed to the club's owner Thomas S. Ricketts.[22]
On September 22, 2015, Patrick Bertoletti, Tim Brown, Takeru Kobayashi, Kevin Strahle and Bob Shoudtconsumed a 40-pound goat in 13 minutes and 22 seconds at Taco in a Bag restaurant in Chicago.[23]
On October 7, 2016, The owners of The Chicago Diner, a local vegetarian eatery near Wrigley Field, teamed up with Farm Sanctuary to try to reverse the Curse of the Billy Goat by displaying posters in the windows at their locations. The posters feature a goat named Peanut who urges Chicagoans to “reverse the curse” by going meat-free.[24]
On October 22, 2016, the Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4 games to 2 in the 2016 National League Championship Series, winning their first pennant since 1945.[25] They then beat the Cleveland Indians in seven games to win the 2016 World Series.
Prior to his death on October 22, 1970, Billy Sianis himself attempted to lift the curse. Sam Sianis, his nephew, has gone to Wrigley Field with a goat multiple times in attempts to break the curse, including on Opening Day in 1984 and again in 1989, both years in which the Cubs went on to win their division. In 1994 Sam Sianis went again, with a goat, to stop a home losing streak, and in 1998 for the Wild Card tie-breaker game, which the Cubs won.[14]
In 2003 (the Chinese zodiac's Year of the Goat), a group of Cubs fans headed to Houston with a billy goat named "Virgil Homer" and attempted to gain entrance to Minute Maid Park, home of the Astros, division rivals of the Cubs at the time.[15] After they were denied entrance, they unfurled a scroll, read a verse and proclaimed they were "reversing the curse." The Cubs won the division that year and then came within five outs of playing in the World Series, but were undone by the Florida Marlins' eight-run rally immediately following the Steve Bartman incident. The Cubs then lost the following game and with it the series. (The Marlins went on to win the World Series against the New York Yankees.) Further salting the wound, the Astros earned their first World Series berth two years laterand their crosstown rival the Chicago White Sox won the series.
On February 26, 2004, at the Harry Caray Restaurant in downtown Chicago, the Bartman baseball was electrocuted in an attempt to break the curse, leaving nothing but a heap of string behind.
In another bizarre twist, it was reported that a butchered goat was hung from the Harry Caray statue on October 3, 2007, to which The Chicago Sun-Times noted: "If the prankster intended to reverse the supposed billy goat curse with the stunt, it doesn't appear to have worked."[16] While the Cubs did win the NL Central division title in 2007 and 2008, they were swept in the first round of the postseason in both years: by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2007 and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008. The elimination by Arizona came on October 6, the same date that the goat appeared at Wrigley Field in 1945.[17]
In 2008, a Greek Orthodox priest sought to end the curse during the 2008 playoffs with a spraying of holy water in and around the Cubs dugout to no avail.[18]
The act was repeated before the home opener in 2009, this time a goat's butchered head being hung from the statue. The act was futile as the Cubs were eliminated from postseason contention on September 26, 2009.[19]Cubs fans have also brought in priests that have blessed the field, stadium, and dugout.
On April 1, 2011, a social enterprise called Reverse The Curse, dedicated to bringing innovations to poverty by giving goats to families in developing countries, was initiated.[20] The goats provide the family with milk, cheese, and alternative income to help lift them out of poverty. Reverse The Curse has expanded into reversing the "curses" that afflict the world's children in education and obesity.
On February 25, 2012, a group of five Chicago Cubs fans calling themselves Crack the Curse set-out on foot from Mesa, Arizona (home to the Cubs' spring training facilities) to Wrigley Field. They brought along a goat named Wrigley whom they believed would be able to break the Curse of the Billy Goat upon arrival at Wrigley Field. Additionally, they attempted to raise $100,000 for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.[21]
On April 10, 2013, a severed goat's head was delivered to the Cubs in a possible effort to lift the curse on the team. It was addressed to the club's owner Thomas S. Ricketts.[22]
On September 22, 2015, Patrick Bertoletti, Tim Brown, Takeru Kobayashi, Kevin Strahle and Bob Shoudtconsumed a 40-pound goat in 13 minutes and 22 seconds at Taco in a Bag restaurant in Chicago.[23]
On October 7, 2016, The owners of The Chicago Diner, a local vegetarian eatery near Wrigley Field, teamed up with Farm Sanctuary to try to reverse the Curse of the Billy Goat by displaying posters in the windows at their locations. The posters feature a goat named Peanut who urges Chicagoans to “reverse the curse” by going meat-free.[24]
On October 22, 2016, the Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4 games to 2 in the 2016 National League Championship Series, winning their first pennant since 1945.[25] They then beat the Cleveland Indians in seven games to win the 2016 World Series.
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