Almost a Curse!

Almost every baseball fan knows about the curse of the Bambino. This was where the owner of the Boston Red Sox at the time, had traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for money to finance his girfriend's play. Now at the time of the trade, Boston had just won their 5th World Championship, most at the time, and the Yankees had none. After 86 long years, the Red sox finally broke the curse and won a 6th in 2004 and 7th in 2007 http://www.bambinoscurse.com/whatis/. However the Yankees won 26 World Championships in those 86 years and added a 27th in 2009.

This bring me to the curse that was almost reversed. In 2008 construction began on the New Yankee Stadium. A Boston Red Sox fan had buried a David Ortiz jersey underneath the foundation of the New Yankee Stadium. The Yankees then held an "Excavation Ceremony" to extract the Red Sox Jersey from the foundation of the Stadium. This in total cost the Yankees $50,000 to extract but to all Yankees fans it was worth it http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/sports/baseball/14jersey.html?_r=1. But the ironic twist came later in October of 2009 when the Yankees defeated the Phillies gain their 27th World Championship in the 1st season at the new stadium.

In class we discussed the Mozart Effect. This was the idea that if you listen to classical music then your IQ would go up and you would become more intellegent. Also this idea can be realted to parents and guardians believing sugar makes kids hyper. Just because they hear it from others they believe it. The traditions of baseball and other sports are passed down from generation to generation. That is why baseball has been a major sport for over 100 years. The tradition of the Yankees and other storied franchises are handed down and told from older generations to younger ones. Superstitions are like the Mozart effect, if you perform an act it brings your team good luck. You pull a Red Sox Jersey from underneath Yankee Stadium, you win a championship. Sometimes the result whether factual or coincidental can influence a belief.