After a drought of 58 years without a place in baseball's World Series, the day has come for an act that can remove from Chicago's Wrigley Field the Billy Goat Curse of 1945.

Time is ripe. Bolstered by the strongest young pitching arms in baseball, the Chicago Cubs-- longtime symbols of diamond futility-- have mystifed the baseball establishment by staying in the tight race for the Central Division lead in the National League. So they should be ready for the mystical that could free them of the curse that has kept them out of the World Series since 1945.

The somber tale is familiar to longtime Cubs fans who had grown accustomed to pennant winners during the first half-century of Big League baseball. It was the 16th World Series for the Cubs when they played the American League's Detroit Tigers in 1945. Division playoffs were a long way off, and each team was the champion of its eight-team league. Fans laughed when a Chicago tavern-keeper, Sam Sianis-- angered over his ejection from a '45 Series game-- pronounced in his broken English: "Never agin will World Series be played in Wrigley Field." The laughter has died, as almost six decades have passed without the Cubs adding that elusive 17th pennant. They have become America's "favorite losers," as Chicago super TV station, WGN-- owned by the same company that runs the Cubs, the Chicago Tribune-- has given the perennial Cubs frustrations a national viewing audience.

One fan, angered by the Cubs image of ineptness, has proposed an exorcism to disolve the curse. He even has arranged for the exorcist: Fr. Guido Sarducci, the "Saturday Night LIve" television identity of actor, Don Novello. Fr. Guido said he is prepared to come to Chicago to perform the exorcism. He would be resplendent in his vestments as he invokes a cleansing invocation while a cherrypicker lifts him high above the main entrance of the ballpark.

The original Billy Goat Sianis, who bequeathed his business-- and the curse-- to his nephew, gave Wrigley Field ushers good reason to eject him from that Series game against the Tigers. He used his second ticket to bring with him his tethered goat. Getting through the gates with his smelly pet was an achievement. Being ejected was a foregone conclusion, as nearby fans complained about the goat's odor.

As the years passed, the curse evolved into one of Chicago's unique traditions, like Ms. O'Leary's cow kicking over the lantern that started the Chicago fire. Mike Royko, Chicago's famed syndicated columnist, wrote an annual column about the curse-based failure of the Cubs.

In 1994, Tom Trebelhorn, one of a string of 10 successive Cubs managers to last no more than a year in the job, did his best to get rid of the curse. He arranged for the second generation Sianis and Cubs great, Ernie Banks, to join a robed group of chanting monastic monks in what was intended to be a curse-cleansing procession around the vine-covered interior walls of Wrigley Field. Nothing changed, and Trebelhorn headed out the Cubs managerial revolving door at the end of the season.

Trebelhorn made one mistake. He failed to involve an exorcist. Now the time has come. Fr. Guido awaits a summons to Chicago to evict the curse of the goat, and resurrect the glory days of the Cubs.

Callen - 1/17/2004

Hi! I am doing an Illinois Hostory Fair project and I decided to do the Curse of the Cubs! I am wondering of you can send me information on the WHOLE story. Beginning, middle, end, and how it got reversed! I would greatly appreciate it! I am the biggest Cubs fan you would ever meet and I think this is bogous! The Cubs team is already good and there was no such thing as a curse! The Cubs rule! Well please help me!

Buzz - 1/6/2004

Next time they play, Wear a shirt that says

"Thanks for the Babe Losers!"

Buzz - 1/6/2004

If one fan can screw a team out of a World Series,
I don't want to know how the world ends.

Buzz - 1/6/2004

For Bob.
They did not lift it, they spread it to the Astros and I hope they don't ever make it that close.

Buzz - 1/6/2004

For George Beres, GAME 6!
I believe that the foul ball run in and that best fielder error will NEVER happen again in Chicago unless the Cubs or White Sox are close.

Buzz - 1/6/2004

For this curse to be broken, the number of Rube Foster, the greatest African-American pitcher of all time, must hang in US Cellular Field and The Cubs' field*

* I say the Cubs' field because to defeat the Goat curse, Wrigley Field must be destroyed. The curse is put on Wrigley Field, not the Cubs. Fitting that they lost in 2003 in Wrigley.

brent - 1/4/2004

A buddy of mine just started up http://cubs.mlbcenter.com a cubs site with all the latest news, roster info, transcations and great vbulletin forums. I believe he still has to finish a few links such as rosters. Anyway, feel free to check out the forum he recently opened yesterday. You may have to register at forums.mlbcenter.com/register.php to view it, but try the link from his site first. Let me know what you think of it. :) Hopefully I'll see lots of you guys around.

Carlisle McNair - 12/23/2003

Instead of blowing up or putting the ball in nitrogen, just take it apart. Take the stitches out, dismantle the insides, auction off authenitic pieces of the ball. Give all Cubs fans the chance to get a piece of the ball and destroy or perserve it in whatever fashion they choose.

Mr. Gruff - 11/16/2003

My that was rather rude. I just thought we were having fun but I guess typing words on a computer while sitting alone in a room is serious business for you. I apologize. I didn't know this was your life.

the babe - 10/21/2003

yes definately !! the curse was only tro keep the world series out of wrigley , not for them to lose it once it's there. but that day will never come .......ta ta damn the weather is nice in fla this time of year!!

Kyle Harding - 10/20/2003

Then why do they let Dusty Baker in??????

Bob - 10/20/2003

The Yankees have won game 2

Final score

FLA: 1 NYY: 6

The series is now tied 1-1

Bob - 10/19/2003

The Marlins the team that shouldn't be there has won game one of the World Series

Final was FLA: 3 NYY: 2

The evil Empire must crush the Marlins in the next four games

If the Marlins win the World Series Pro Player Stadium will be consumed by flames

Satan - 10/18/2003

"Aw, come on. That guy didn't cost you the World Series!"

yes he did

How you ask?

His interference pissed off the Cubs and a pissed off team is a distracted team

His interference raised morale in the Marlins dugout giving them the confidence to win

After their loss the pissed off Cubs lost morale

After their game 6 win the Marlins gained morale

Thus in game 7 a Cubs team with low morale faced a Marlins team with hightened morale

"I can't remember a bigger meltdown than that. It was only game 6, too, so they had today as well. "

Now that its the 18th has your opinion changed?

That meltdown would have never occurred had Alou made the catch

Dan - 10/18/2003

"now we have the curse of the geek"

Great now we don't just have to get a billygoat into Wrigley Field we have to get a Trekkie in too

Satan - 10/18/2003

Jay Leno had is own version last night on the Tonight Show

In his version the ball bounces off the wall and hits a nuclear detonator button

Dan - 10/18/2003

If the Cubs had won game 6

Could they defeat the Yankees?

Wizad - 10/18/2003

What you don't realize is the history of the curse. First of all, Sam Sianis the Greek who placed the curse wasn't your ordinary guy...not just anyone can place curses.
Secondly, Sianis regularly took his goat to baseball games before being denied entrance at the World Series. It isn't like you can just show up at a game with any old goat at any old ballpark and decide to curse them. That's absurd.
Thirdly, the goat lived to be a very old age, and Sianis lived to be even older, but both are now dead -- I would have to doubt that there's any hope of ever lifting the curse.

Red Sox and Cubs made a good run. I was rooting for both. But in the end, the losers are still losers.

Satan - 10/17/2003

"I'm a Red Sox fan, and we've been cursed because we sold a player who was arguably the best of his era to our biggest rivals for money. "

A well deserved punishment

"Your cross-town rivals, the White Sox, are cursed because players on a team that was arguably the best of its era threw the World Series for money. "

as the saying goes "cheaters never win"

"Which brings us to the Cubs' curse. They were cursed by ... a goat herder??? "

No you're incorrect a local bartender who was pissed because they wouldn't allow his pet goat into the ballpark

"Sounds like a pretty thirdrate curse to me, one that could easily be lifted by anyone who can say "abracadabra."

Actually getting a billygoat into Wrigley Field is no easy task

Dan - 10/17/2003

Dresing up a goat like that and PETA will be on your ass so fast your head would spin

The only reason the curse remains is simple the Owners of Wrigley Field as with most other ballparks have a "No Animals Aloud" policy

Cub fans must...

A. Convince the owners of Wrigley Field to recende the "No Animals Aloud" policy

B. Convince the Cubs to adopt a billygoat as a mascot and convince the owners of Wrigley Field to build a pen for the goat in the ballpark that is easily visible during a game

Satan - 10/17/2003

Do that and the curse will definately last forever

The field isn't cursed...

The Cubs are

The field is part of the cure

Destroy the field and the curse will never be lifted

Dan - 10/17/2003

Couldn't hurt

Start a petition

Satan - 10/17/2003

The thing is Tim Mr. Bartman set in motion a chain of events that turned what would have been a Cubs 3-0 victory into a Marlins 8-3 victory

Bartman was the single variable that caused that Cubs loss

I agree he was trying to do what any fan would have done but he is the single factor that caused the Cubs defeat so he will be blammed for all eternity for that loss

Satan - 10/17/2003

He is the Florida Marlins unofficial MVP!

He is Florida's newest state hero!

He has a garrenteed 3 months stay at the Florida resort of his choice!

He is garrenteed sh*t loads of cash when the movie comes out!

and

The Chicago Moffia has put out a hit on him!

Every single Cubs fan wants to beat him to a bloody pulp!

The entire Cubs team (although they say he's not to blame) wants to beat him to death with there bats!


ALL HAIL STEVE BARTMAN!!!

Bob - 10/17/2003

Shouldn't you be off erecting a statue of Steve Bartman and thanking him instead?

After all he's the one who gave the Marlins the oppertunity to win

If he hadn't interfered game 6 would have been a 3-0 Cubs win

Satan - 10/17/2003

"If the guy with the goat passed the curse down to his nephew, maybe he also passed down the remedy. Maybe someone should talk to him. "

The Remedy is well known a billygoat must sit in the stands of Wrigley Field for the duration of a game

Dan - 10/17/2003

"What if instead of having small pine bushes in the centerfield bleachers so the hitters have a dark background to hit against, Cubs management planted some delicious grass and allowed a Billygoat to graze there all season long?"

Interesting but there would have to be fence to protect the goat from centerfield homeruns


"We could have a ceremony on opening day next year and have a ceremonial carrot feeding by Ron Santo. Surely that would do it and be damn funny to boot...So long as drunken bleacher bums didn't throw cups at him. I mean with all the inexplicable things that happened you just can't chalk this stuff up to coincidence."

If they did do that for the 2004 season Steve Bartman should pay for the billygoat, the landscaping required to remove the pine bushes and plant grass, and the fence to protect the goat from centerfield homeruns

Also he should free of charge clean up after the goat

That I believe would make up for his interference which cost the Cubs the National League Championship

Satan - 10/17/2003

LOL!!!

Go ahead destroy Wrigley Field then the curse will never end!

LOL!!!

You see the curse says the the Cubs will never win the penant until a billygoat sits in Wrigley Field

If you destroy Wrigley Field then the curse can never be lifted

Satan - 10/17/2003

"It is because they are all lazy bums who won't get off their behinds and get it done."

Actually its the fact that the owners of Wrigley Field won't allow animals into the ballpark

Satan - 10/17/2003

Exorcisms can't break the curs

The only way to end the curse is to get a billygoat into the stands at Wrigley Field and keep it there for the duration of an entire game

Satan - 10/17/2003

You want the curse to end?

then get a billygoat into the stands at Wrigley Field and keep it there for the entire game

And the curse shall be lifted

Dan - 10/17/2003

Alou makes the catch and Castillo is out

2 Outs Cubs lead 3-0 Pierre is on second

Rodriguez hits a single

2 Outs Cubs lead 3-0 Pierre's on Second Rodriguez's on First

Cabrera ends up being the third out

Bottom of the eighth and top of the ninth would transpire the same way

The Final would end up being
Cubs: 3
Marlins: 0

Dan - 10/17/2003

My post is pointless sine the curse of the billygoat and the Babe Ruth curse both did their jobs but I want to correct you on something

The Chicago Cubs are in the National League and the Boston Red Sox are in the American League

If both teams had won their respective LCS

Game 1: Boston
Game 2: Boston
Game 3: Chicago
Game 4: Chicago
Game 5: Chicago
Game 6: Boston
Game 7: Boston

the Bambino - 10/17/2003

The Yankees have done it again. What a masterful way to torture the Sox. They needed it. I feel sorry for the Cubs. I would have liked them to win. I will do an exorcism for free if someone of power asks. Again, a managerial mistake. But, that is what happens. Just wait. The ghosts will come. Ahh I am off to get a hot dog or so.

Jesse - 10/17/2003

Your aren't taking this serious.
These things really work.
And depending on how much faith Mr. Sianis had in himself is how much power the curse will have.
It could last for many more decades, or it could actually be forever, or it could be over tomorrow.
But there is another way.
I know someone who can try to talk to Mr. Sianis and try to get him to revoke his curse.
If Mr. Sianis is open to pursuasion.
That is the key.
All the attempts to stop the curse so far have been comedies and I suspect that it is only making Mr. Sianis angrier.
You have to decide if you would rather continue to have fodder for jokes or would you rather get this over with and go back to winning pennants.
You decide and let me know.

Kyle Harding - 10/16/2003

It is because they are all lazy bums who won't get off their behinds and get it done.

Kyle Harding (13 years old) - 10/16/2003

Oh and one more thing. LOSERS!!!

Sam Sianis - 10/16/2003

To tell you the truth. I never really liked baseball too. Now tell your dead grandpa who is on my bar wall that if you keep bothering me, you will be cursed too.

Mr. Gruff - 10/16/2003

Dear Sam,
I know it is hard to hear but grandpa never liked baseball. He did care a great deal for you so he tolerated the sport. Truth be told grandpa really enjoyed mud volleyball. Sorry you had to find out like this.
G-

Sam Sianis - 10/16/2003

My goat loved baseball!!!!!!!! Your a phony!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Satan - 10/16/2003

"I believe that as of yesterday, September 23, 2003, the billygoat curse was finally lifted from the Cubs, when a couple of their loyal fans brought a goat to Enron Field... oops, sorry... I mean lemonade park."

Those loyal fans obviously don't know much about the curse and you have to read up on it more yourself

"They bought the goat a ticket, and when they and he were denied admission, they cursed the Astro's and said that they would never win a pennant again, thusly transfering the curse from the Cubs to the Astros. Chicago's heartfelt thanks should go out to these quick witted loyal fans. "

Doesn't work that way the curse is non transferable and I doubt any of those loyal fans own a Tavern near Lemonade Park and are well known locally. And since they're Cubs fans they can't curse a diffrent team

"Quick-witted, and quite eloquent, those fans are."

Not to mention stupid

"For those who missed it, here's a transcription of the curse that now haunts the Houston Astros,"

Correction: Still haunts the Cubs doesn't affect the Astros in the slightest

"delivered to them before the game of 9/22/03 (which they would lose by giving up two homers in the 9th inning). "

Coincedence nothing more

"Two years shy of 60, cursed,
For all this time the Cubs were worse.
Armed with goat and mystic verse,
We hereby reverse the curse. "

Nice poem to bad the curse is...

1. Non Transferable
2. Only lifted when a billygoat sits in Wrigley Field

"You had your chance to let him in,
But now no more will the Astros win.
We'll take our goat and leave this place,
Along with your hopes in the pennant race."

Cute but still worthless

Keep in mind unless the owners of Wrigley Field change their minds and allow billygoats into Wrigley Field the Chicago Cubs will remain forever cursed

There is only one other way the curse can be broken and that is if the Cubs accomplish what the curse says they never can

Unfortunately thanks to a loyal Cubs fan by the name of Steve Bartman that possiblity has been eliminated

So every single Cubs fan should "congraduate" Mr. Bartman in their own "special" way for becoming Floridas newest state hero

D. Whittaker - 10/16/2003

When will the exorcist be at Wrigley Field? Don't wait until another ball is pitched.

Dan - 10/16/2003

The Curse of the Billygoat will forever haunt the Cubs til a Billygoat sits in Wrigley Field

For those who may br wondering what the Cubs curse is
From: http://www.billygoat.org/curse.html
"According to Clark Maxfield, the name comes from a locally-famous curse: Sam Gianis, owner of the Billygoat Tap, which was inspiration for John Belushi's "cheesborger, cheeseborger" routine, tried to bring a billygoat to a Chicago Cubs game in the '40's.
When he was kicked out unceremoniously, he cursed the Cubs, saying that they'd never win the pennant again until a billygoat sat in Wrigley Field....and for 50+ years, they have not. "

So unless a billygoat sits in Wrigley Field the Cubs will never win the NLCS

We can all thank Steve Bartman for keeping the curse alive due to his interferece in the 8th inning of game 6 of the 2003 NLCS

Callie - 10/16/2003

Although I am not a born Cub fan, I was pulling for them wholeheartedly. It's such a shame that the Marlins won. The biggest shame was the fact that someone caught a ball that should have been left for the fielder to catch (which he definitely would have done), thus eliminating the chain reaction of events that cost the Cubs their trip to the World Series. I do not believe in "curses" but because enough of you Cub fans think there is one, including the management and players, you psych yourselves out to lose. My heart really does hurt for you. And the Marlins and their fans should get off their high horses. How would they have felt if it had been them?

Genetically programmed Cubs fan - 10/16/2003

If the Cubs beat the Astros after some loyal fans brought a goat to that stadium (see "end of the curse" above, from 9/23)and evoked their own curse on the Astros (which I wasn't aware of...but it worked for the time being, right?), WHY didn't anyone try to bring a goat to the Marlins stadium during this series??????? There's a thought if we ever get that "next year".....

Goatboy - 10/16/2003

What if instead of having small pine bushes in the centerfield bleachers so the hitters have a dark background to hit against, Cubs management planted some delicious grass and allowed a Billygoat to graze there all season long? We could have a ceremony on opening day next year and have a ceremonial carrot feeding by Ron Santo. Surely that would do it and be damn funny to boot...So long as drunken bleacher bums didn't throw cups at him. I mean with all the inexplicable things that happened you just can't chalk this stuff up to coincidence.

Peeds - 10/16/2003

And you call yourself a Cubs fan. You're Nuts!! Get rid of Wrigley? Gee, why don't they get rid of Soldier Field too, the Bears certainly aren't getting any luck from it!

Wrigley Field is a piece of Chicago History, there is other ways around the curse than destroying the monument. Why not put up a statue of a goat dedicated to Sianis and his goat? That might appease the powers that be

Peeds - 10/16/2003

Hey, learn english! The Cubs ARE the best team in the world! And next year...I'M BRINGING A FREAKING GOAT

Bill Eicher - 10/16/2003

What a rush us Cub fans go thru year in and year out - it's kind of perverted even though we get off on it - to feel like a HELPLESS loser year in and year out. Priceless. Please Cubbies! Never win. We're addicted to this rush. It's who we are.

Cristopher Fowers - 10/16/2003

IT'S BEEN 58 YEARS NOW. HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO GET A GOAT IN WRIGLEY FIELD? GOOD PEOPLE OF CHICAGO STEP UP AND TAKE A STAND AGAINST THE GOAT!!!

lucky T - 10/16/2003

It's time to tear down the stadium and build a new on in a different location. This guy Sianis really did one for Chicago.

To lift the curse, Chicago fans should start asking for donation or ask the governor to build a new stadium.

The Bambino - 10/16/2003

I, the Bambino, will make sure the Yankees crush the Sox and the Marlins. The Cubs need an exorcism at the field. They will break the curse when a goat is sacrificed on the pitcher's mound.
Lets face it --to blow a 3-1 lead is not sad. It is the sign of a poorly managed team and no team spirit.
Go YANKEES. Baseballs' only true team..

AND don't blame that poor innocent fan. He just gave you an excuse.

The Bambino - 10/16/2003

I, the Bambino, will make sure the Yankees cruch the Sox and the Marlins. The Cubs need an exorcism at the field. They will brek the curse when a goat is sacrificed on the pitcher's mound.
Lets face it --to blow a 3-1 lead is not sad. It is the sign of a poorly managed team and no team spirit.
Go YANKEES. Baseballs' only true team..

hOOt Gibson - 10/16/2003

Marc has no sense of humor or history, the boy takes life and baseball much to seriously.

hOOt

hOOt Gibson - 10/16/2003

The Goat Lives!

Sad thing is, the Marlins are bad for baseball, no fans, no history, nothing but a sad 1997 Series win when the greedy owner dumped the entire team to save a few bucks....the Marlins should be(along with the Expos, and Devil Rays)disbanded. 16,000 per game average(2nd worse next to the Expos)....they are a joke, whether they win the series or not!

hOOt

Mr. Gruff - 10/16/2003

Dear Sam,
We have not met. I am William Gruff the great grandson of Billy. What people don't know is that my grandfather did not want to go to that game. He was ill that day. Grandpa Bill had had a very close encounter with someone under a bridge while trying to eat some grass. It all got very ugly and grandpa was stressed and ate to much grass. He had a terrible stomach ache. Grandpa hated baseball. They tasted good but he didn't want to watch anyone play with his food. The Gruff family still does not like baseball. We hold no ill will against the Cubs and we do not wish to be associated with their plight. Hopefully the Cubs will win big one day but as for the Gruff family we are out of it.

Over 5 - 10/16/2003

Anyone over 5 years old who has to call names and put others down for their opinions should stop thinking about baseball and start thinking about what they are saying. Is any of it that important that you would call someone useless, foolish and moronic?

the babe - 10/16/2003

So what do you all think about it now?? and what would you be willing to bet that the sox would lose tonight??even with pedro on the mound.........oh but wait .....something about marlin's? ahhhh yes even if and old red sox pitcher can't do it against the new red sox pitcher,theirs alway's the men in black to back it up!! good luck and smart betting!

Jeanne Umphenour - 10/16/2003

If the guy with the goat passed the curse down to his nephew, maybe he also passed down the remedy. Maybe someone should talk to him.

Rafael Palmeiro - 10/16/2003

Aw, come on. That guy didn't cost you the World Series! I can't remember a bigger meltdown than that. It was only game 6, too, so they had today as well.

Marc - 10/16/2003

Anyone over 5 years old who thinks such a curse exists is a fool and is useless. The Cubs have not won anything since 1945 not because of a curse, but because of poor management. As I am sure, when the St. Louis Cardinals (football) moved to Arizona, someone also cursed them and said they would never win a Super Bowl. So far, so good. The reason this so-called curse has worked out so well is because it's a sensational story. When someone makes a prediction and it does not come through, it gets swept under the rug. But if it does come true, then it's treated as some sort of miracle. This kind of nonsensical, moronic superstition is almost laughable. Can we please put a stop to this and think about baseball? The only ones "cursed" in this case are the morons who think such a curse exists and the poor fellow who caught that ball.

Marc

Bill - 10/16/2003

First off......if they HAD dressed a nanny goat in a dress, heels, a Cubs jersey, and clear lip gloss and sat her down in the same seat with a glass of beer and let her watch the game how would anyone have known? She'd probably would have been one of the prettiest "girls" in the stands and Lord knows, she sure would have SMELLED better than most of the others there and would even have had better manners!

A MARLINS FAN!

Bill - 10/16/2003

Those of us that live here in South Florida and LOVE Our Marlins just want to say "THANK YOU" to the entire Sianis family for that WONDERFUL ONGOING CURSE......May the GOAT live FOREVER!

SAM SIANIS - 10/15/2003

The cubs have not yet past their test. Sorry does not help. They have to bring a goat into Wrigley field and have it watch every game for one season. The curse shall be lifted. Or else, the cubs will be haunted by the curse for always and eterity. Hear the words of I, Sam Sianis! FEEL THE WRATH OF MY CURSE!!!

SAM SIANIS - 10/15/2003

The cubs have not yet past their test. Sorry does not help. They have to bring a goat into Wrigley field and have it watch every game for one season. The curse shall be lifted. Or else, the cubs will be haunted by the curse for always and eterity. Hear the words of I, Sam Sianis! FEEL THE WRATH OF MY CURSE!!!

Angela Tyler - 10/15/2003

I was born and raised in Chicago. I will be a Cub's fan until the day I die. We now live in Columbus, Ohio. My children who have never lived in Chicago are fans of the Cubs. Regardless of what happens tonight true fans of the Cubs will support the team. I've read about the curse and all of the ways people have tried to lift the curse. I wonder if anyone tried simply saying they were sorry. I'm watching the game now and praying for a Cub win. To Mr. Sianis where ever you are in the heavens I would like to say on behalf of all Cub fans that we are sorry. To your family, your friends and your beloved goat I would like to say sorry. Mr. Sianis if you can help now please do. Our team deserves a win. Cub fans are born not made. We are a special breed that loves our team unconditionally. It's time to put old hurts behind. Please forgive those who hurt you Mr. Sianis for they, like all Cub fans, are sorry. I believe in my heart that the Cubs will win. This time they go all the way.

Kyle Harding - 10/15/2003

The Cubs are losers. L-O-S-E-R-S. LOSERS!!!!!!!!!!! Anyone can be a loser if they wanted to, but not the Cubs. They have to be losers. Over a goat!!! MUAH HAH HAH HAH HAH!!!!! HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH!!!HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LOSERS!!!!!! LOSERS!!!!!LOSERS!!!!!
MUAH HAH HAH HAH HAH!!!!!!!

Pete Zeria - 10/15/2003

THE MARLINS IS THE BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD!!!!!!

Bob the Baptist - 10/15/2003

The Church of Ouzo declares that the curse will again prevail on 10/15/03. May the Cubs R.I.P. bobevenson@yahoo.com

mad max - 10/15/2003

i think everyone should just forget about the curse of the goat,the bottom line is its an excuse for decades of torture!
after tonight the cubs will no longer be Completely Usless By September, they will be completely useless by october.

Tim - 10/15/2003

I have a solution for all us who are loyal Cubby fans. We need to have more sensitivity towards the young man who reacted like anyone of us would have by trying to catch the ball....So why don't we forgive and allow the young man to sing "Take Out Me Out To The Ball Game" in the booth with a goat. This way the curse is lifted and the young will overcome his fears of attending future Cub games.

tman - 10/15/2003

If anybody has goat you need to bring it tonight. Let's call it goat night. "KIDS get in free!"

If they try to stop you rush the gate. Success in numbers is the key. If 40,000 show up with goats one is bound to get in.

"OH Yeah cross your fingers and pray!"

George - 10/15/2003

You spelled gaot wrong too ....!Anyhow, here I am in Zephyr Ontario Canada watching my 2nd favorite team going down the drain, thanks to the CURSE . It's time you guys got off your ass and got the curse revoked. Any country that can send men to the moon should be able to do it. Try a Jamaican witch doctor, these guys are trained in curses and removals. DO IT NOW !! Geo.

kNICHOLS - 10/15/2003

i FEEL THAT DUSTY SHOULD LET THE GOAT IN THE DUGOUT WITH THE REST OF THE PLAYERS DURING THE GAME. sHOULD KEEP THEM LOOSE. mAKE SURE THEY WATCH WHERE THEY STEP. go cubs"""

bambino goat - 10/15/2003

Bring the goat tonight! It's your onlt chance, red Sox's have no chance.

Barry McKokinner - 10/15/2003

Maybe the way to get rid of the curse would be to eat the goat

Chad Gibbs - 10/15/2003

It's a very poor craftsman who blames his tools.
reason they haven't won a world series is because they suck.
The goat just gives them an excuse

THE GOAT - 10/15/2003

I DONT THINK SO

mike mac - 10/15/2003

ain't going to happen, we in Phila. are in the same boat, we have the curse of the Willam Penn Statue, we have not won anything, in any sport since they built above him. Bring in a goat and sit him in that bums seat.

Mike Mac - 10/15/2003

Sit that Goat in the seat the Geek was in and lets get this thing over, love your city, your team and uselly your fans, that dawg killed you. I am a Phillies fan, curse of the "William Penn Statue" we haven't won anything, baseball, football, basketball or hockey since they built higher then him.

Bill Eicher - 10/15/2003

Find the geek from last night and let him ride the goat; but let them both in Wrigley tonight. Please, whatever it takes to win the pennant!

Tim - 10/15/2003

After last night collapse perhaps the Chicago Cubs should give in and allow the goat to be present for tonights game when Woods takes to the mound against the Marlins.

Ron Santo - 10/15/2003

That little geek in the green turtleneck , blue sweatshirt, glasses, headphones and Cubs hat on the left field line who kept the ball from reaching Moises Alou's glove.....AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!.....oh well, now we have the curse of the geek!

Steve Potter - 10/14/2003

My friend Mr. Harding is buying me a goat. I hope he will enjoy my apartment. All the Cubs gear he can eat.

Jean - 10/14/2003

It HAS to be a curse. I never saw such tough luck as tonight. My heart's broken for Chicago. Pray for them, everybody.

Pat M - 10/14/2003

OK IT EXISTS! IT EXISTS! WE ACKNOWLEDGE IT! BACK! BACK! I TAKE IT ALL BACK! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD LET THEM PULL IT OUT IN THE NINTH! WHOEVER THIS IS GOING TO AND HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE THE OUT COME FROM THE CURRENT SCORE, I BEG OF YOU, DO SO!

sam - 10/14/2003

as im typing this its bottom of the 8th and the marlins are winning 8 to 3...................... from a 0 to 3 score...... still there

Liz Markey - 10/14/2003

Now the the two teams in baseball with a curse are in the playoffs, the curse is cancelled out by one and other. We will soon be watching the Red Sox and the Cubs battle it out in the World Series.

bobby - 10/13/2003

the billy goat taverm might go out of business or my become ver y famous if the cubs win the world series

Doofys friend Bob - 10/13/2003

Im the spirit of old St. Nick IM GOING TO CHOP OFF YOUR DICK

Mike Miller - 10/13/2003

The Marlins are coming back and it aint over yet

Pat M - 10/8/2003

Many people believe that the "goat curse" on the Cubs as of 1945 is no more than a way for Northsiders to cope with the teams 58 year stretch as the lovable losers of Chicago. But those people are Southsiders, American Leaguers, SOX FANS. So really... who cares what their opinion is. Maybe when they find a way to lose less than 75% of their games to the 2nd worst team ever put together in the history of baseball (The 2003 Detroit Tigers) we can take their thoughts/comments a little more seriously. But regardless, try to look at this from a believer's standpoint. In 1969, the Cubs had one of the best teams of all time being put together. The had a nine game lead on the Mets with somewhere in the area of 10 games remaining in the season. However, they failed to recognize the possibility that the curse still had not been lifted, and made no effort to do so. The "Miracle Mets" would go onto win the NL pennant and World Series become the cinderella team of the 20th century. In 1989, the Cubs near the end of the season began to atleast acknowledge the existance of the curse and discussed ways to have it broken. The Cubs would go on to make it to the playoffs as division champs, and quickly be blown away by San Diego. 1998, the Cubs, 3 games out of the wild card with 4 games to go in the season, call in the nephew of the man who actually broat his goat, Murphy, to the game in 1945 and march along the inner walls and ivy of Wrigley field with an animal relative of the actual goat's. The Cubs go on to clinch the wild card a little less than a week later. And keep in mind, they were just about 10 games under .500 at the all-star break. But because they failed to go so far as to make an actual spiritual effort to lift the curse, the Atlanta Braves come into town on the heels of then a 7 season post-season achievement streak and blow the Cubs out of the water 3 games to NONE. NOW! The year is 2003 and because of the Cubs status in early September, that status being that they still have a shot at both the division championship AND the wild card, GM Jim Hendry finally makes the call to bring in the big guns. A professional exorcist is called in in the middle of September. He's lifted by a cherry-picker high above Wrigley, performs the actual exorcism, and here come the Cubs. Not only that, but the most loyal of all Cub fans, decide to MARCH a goat from Wrigley Field to Minute Maid Park and once denied access, pass the curse from the Cubbies to the Astros. Here we are on Otober 8th 2003, the cubs go in and beat the best team in baseball in 5 games, they drop game one to the surprisingly talented Marlins, but they'll still have BOTH their aces (Mark Prior and Kerry Wood) good to go for two more games a piece. Oh and where's Houston? Probably sitting in an oil patch somewehere in Houston, wondering what to name their new-found hex? Hmmm...I have an idea. How about "Enron The Second."

Chris - 10/8/2003

For the Cubs' sake, just let the damn goat in! It's the only way.

Ernie B - 10/7/2003

Screw trying to undo/reverse the curse. The key is the "Wrigley Field" part - tear it down and rebuild under another name.

Mark Reddersdorf - 10/6/2003

It seems to me that to have a legitimate curse, someone has to actually hex the team. Since that's what happened to the Cubs, maybe the Red Sox aren't really cursed at all. . .maybe they just suck, and the fans use the curse to make them feel better about their lousy team.

Alexandra Furlong - 10/5/2003

My diehard Cubs fan son Michael, who lives in Portland, tells me that the local baseball team has a 'Bring your dog to the game' day, kind of like Ladies Day, but for dogs. Maybe it would help if the Cubs had a 'Bring your goat to the game' day.

David Ross - 10/3/2003

Idiots!!! you have to take the goat into Wrigley field. If they welcome the goat, I bet the curse will go away.

Stacia - 10/1/2003

The sillest story I ever Heard .....

First off go get a nanny goat and dress her in heels mini skirt and cubs jersy with clear lip gloss give her a pale of beer (Chicago's Finest) then shit her in the very same spot that the Billy goat got thrown out from. Let her watch the entire game and then the billy goat will forgive you and curse will be gone.......... Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.... Just common sense!

Dan Lyddy - 9/30/2003

I'm a Red Sox fan, and we've been cursed because we sold a player who was arguably the best of his era to our biggest rivals for money.

Your cross-town rivals, the White Sox, are cursed because players on a team that was arguably the best of its era threw the World Series for money.

Which brings us to the Cubs' curse. They were cursed by ... a goat herder??? Sounds like a pretty thirdrate curse to me, one that could easily be lifted by anyone who can say "abracadabra."

Dan Lyddy - 9/30/2003

Nahhh, Sammy will get up in the bottom of the ninth of game seven with the score tied, two out, and the bases loaded. He will hit a game-winning single, but his bat will explode, revealing that he has switched from cork to superballs. Bud Selig, who does not own superballs, will refuse to make a decision and will declare the World Series a tie.

Brad Lips - 9/23/2003

Quick-witted, and quite eloquent, those fans are. For those who missed it, here's a transcription of the curse that now haunts the Houston Astros, delivered to them before the game of 9/22/03 (which they would lose by giving up two homers in the 9th inning).

"Two years shy of 60, cursed,
For all this time the Cubs were worse.
Armed with goat and mystic verse,
We hereby reverse the curse.

You had your chance to let him in,
But now no more will the Astros win.
We'll take our goat and leave this place,
Along with your hopes in the pennant race."

roz goldstein - 9/23/2003

The guys who did this yesterday are "TRUE CHICAGO HEROES".....as, of course, is the GOAT.....The "Curse Reverse" worked yesterday.....Hopefully, it will continue...."GO CUBS"!!!!!!

Andy Doggett - 9/23/2003

I just listened to the taped broadcast of the goat being brought to Minutemaid Park yesterday (9/22). You can hear the ticket taker deny access to the goat. Then, while the goat nayed in protest, one of the Cubs fans read a proclamation declaring that the curse was lifted and was placed on the Astros. To listen to the recorded broadcast, go to http://www.wgn.com-Click on the radio section-Then go to the John Williams show. The goat clip can be found on the right side of the page.

Bob Blough - 9/23/2003

I believe that as of yesterday, September 23, 2003, the billygoat curse was finally lifted from the Cubs, when a couple of their loyal fans brought a goat to Enron Field... oops, sorry... I mean lemonade park. They bought the goat a ticket, and when they and he were denied admission, they cursed the Astro's and said that they would never win a pennant again, thusly transfering the curse from the Cubs to the Astros. Chicago's heartfelt thanks should go out to these quick witted loyal fans.

joseph canton - 9/17/2003

It will rally be amazing if they are playing in Wrigly field in the seventh game. Because of the All Star game outcome. The seventh game will be played in the American League park.

Probably in the Bronx.

John Kipper - 9/12/2003

And Sammy wins it with a Grand Slam in the bottom of the ninth in Wrigley!! Hopefully, Ron Santo, Billie Williams. Kessinger and Beckert don't immediately fall dead of envy. Of course, ERnie Banks will beam with joy and call for playing two today!

Jesse Lamovsky - 9/11/2003

Actually...

since both Leon Durham and Bill Buckner will let a ball go through his legs...

Don Zimmer will be managing both teams...

Calvin Sheraldi will be the closer for both teams...

and it's been a combined 190 years since either team won a World Series...

it will come down to which team's fans want to lose more, so as not to let go of the self-centered angst that has sustained them for so long.

There you have it. Cubs in seven!

george beres - 9/10/2003

Following your Red Sox scenario, if the 7th game hit by the blizzard is played at Wrigley Field, the teams may have disappeared by the time they dig out. What they are sure to find are the skeletal remains of----- a goat.

george beres - 9/10/2003

FOR JONATHAN DRESNER: Your priestly instincts have some merit. Sianis is of Greek derivation, as am I. As an infant, I was subjected to an exorcism to free me of a persistent fever. My parents said it worked. Friends today say I still have the fever. We are reduced to a "comedic priestly imitator" because no one subject to the Pope or the Patriarch would risk staging such an event. Whatever its mystical impact (if any), the Fr. Guido exorcism could have a positive psychological effect on the Cubs. As you say, thereafter, they would have to be answerable for failures to get into the Series. Not even the Yankees do it every year. - George Beres

Oscar Chamberlain - 9/10/2003

What really scares me is the possibility of the Red Sox playing the Cubs in the World Series.

I can see it now. It's game 7, the score is tied in the late innings, when a freak October Blizzard strikes. Commissioner Selig, with Bowie Kuhn as his role model, insists that they keep playing. Soon the snow erases the players from view.

The next day, when the stadium is dug out, no one can find the teams.

And no one will ever know who won.

Jonathan Dresner - 9/9/2003

If the Cubs were serious about lifting whatever curse were in place, they would engage someone with more spiritual force than a comedic priestly imitator.

I'm not familiar with the surname Sianis: Greek? Orthodox priests, not Catholic, would be the appropriate authorities, though with a goat involved a Dionysian prelate would also be useful, I imagine.

And they really should have a day (perhaps an annual event!) on which pets, including goats, are invited to the stadium. But I suspect they're not really serious, because if they did succeed in lifting the curse, their losses would be their own responsibility.

Jesse Lamovsky - 9/9/2003

Nice piece from Mr. Beres. Go Cubs!

As a northeast Ohioan and a long-suffering Cleveland Indians fan, I heard a number of supernatural explanations for our favorite team's lack of success (between 1954 and 1995, the Tribe not only failed to reach the World Series, but finished last eight times and four times lost more than 100 games in a season). Turned out that the sorry state of the Indians had more to do with a bad farm system, little revenue, and an dirty, cold, mortuary of a stadium than anything intangible.

By the way, I hear a lot of plaintive speech from fans in Chicago and Boston, but at least there are other, more successful franchises in those cities. Fans in Cleveland, on the other hand, have to put up with the Indians, Browns, and Cavaliers. Those three have combined for zero championships since 1964. And it doesn't look as if there are any on the horizon, either!