Murphy's Curse
By Meredith Gibson - Meredith.L.Gibson-2@ou.edu
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Hello. My name is Fred Strong and I am a life-long Chicago Cubs fan. I was born and raised in Chicago and started attending baseball games at Wrigley Field in 1939 when I was just 4 years old. I will never forget the feeling I got the first time I walked into the stadium. I was awestruck. Everything was so big and beautiful. There were people everywhere and it seemed like they were all wearing the Cubs colors: red, white and blue.
After that first game, I went to every game I could. My father had season tickets and we sat in the same seats at every game we went to. I thought our seats were the best seats in the house. They were on the third baseline about 10 rows up and we sat next to the coolest old man, Mr. Sianis, and his pet goat, Murphy. You might be wondering why this old man brought his pet goat to baseball games. Well, Murphy was not just any pet goat. He was like Mr. Sianis' child. I mean, Murphy even had his own ticket to get into the games.
Then, on October 6th, 1945, everything changed for Mr. Sianis and Murphy. That day was the 4th game of the World Series. The Cubs were playing Detroit and all they needed to do to was win one more game to win the whole thing. My dad and I got to the field early that day because I wanted to be sure to have everything ready before the game started. When we finally got everything - peanuts, hot dogs, sodas, all that good stuff - and got to our seats, Mr. Sianis and Murphy were not there. This was very strange to me because Mr. Sianis and Murphy were always early. It was like a pregame ritual. However, it just so happened that I needed to use the restroom. I ran up the stairs and was heading in the direction of the restroom when I heard a lot of commotion around the area where the entrance gate was. Curious, I pushed my way to the front of the crowd. I could not believe what I saw when I finally made my way to the front. There was Mr. Sianis and Murphy, and Mr. Sianis was talking to none other than P.K. Wrigley, the owner of the Chicago Cubs. Before I could figure out what was going on, Mr. Sianis and Murphy were being escorted to the gate and Mr. Sianis was shouting something. I only caught the end of what he was saying but I think that was enough. I heard Mr. Sianis shout, "The Cubs are not going win anymore. Never again will the World Series be played at Wrigley Field." Shocked and in disbelief, I returned to my seat and in horror watched as my beloved Cubs lost, not only the 4th game of the World Series, but the rest of the World Series altogether.
It may seem hard to believe, but everyone blames Mr. Sianis for cursing the Cubs. It would not be too hard to believe if you look at some of the facts. The Cubs have not been to World Series in over 70 years. They have only been in the playoffs twice since 1945. Every time playoffs roll around, I cannot help but hear those fateful words I first heard so many years ago, "The Cubs are not going win anymore. Never again will the World Series be played at Wrigley Field." Now all I can do is hope one day Mr. Sianis' curse will somehow be lifted and my beloved Cubs will get another shot at the baseball World Series.
"The Billy Goat Curse"
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