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Top 3 Curses in Sports History

We have come upon another Friday the 13th and so in honor of the superstitious nature of the day, here are the top three curses in sports history:

By: Jordan Tracy

3. The Madden Curse 

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(Photo Credit: Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)

It's a great honor for an NFL player to get chosen to be on the cover of the Madden video games every year.  Last year, Madden 25 featured Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders and this year's cover will include Seattle Seahawk's cornerback Richard Sherman. In the past, fans started to notice bad things would happen to those who appeared on the cover of the game. 

For example, when Michael Vick was on the cover of Madden 2004, he suffered a leg injury that kept him out for most of the season.  The curse is said to have begun with the Madden 99 cover featuring 49ers' running back Garrison Hearst.  Hearst was breaking records until he broke is ankle in the playoffs.  He missed two seasons and was never the same again.

2. The Curse of the Billy Goat

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(Photo Credit: Getty Images/Brian Bahr)

The year was 1945 when William "Billy Goat" Sianis brought his goat, Murphy, into Wrigley Field for Game 4 of the World Series.  Sianis and his goat watched the game from their seats until the fourth inning, when security forced him to leave. The order reportedly came from Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley who complained about the goat's smell. 

Rumor has it, as Sianis left the stadium, he shouted "The Cubs ain't gonna win no more.  The Cubs will never win a World Series so long as the goat is not allowed in Wrigley Field."  Since that day, the Cubs have experienced many disasters and collapses in the playoffs and regular season and have not won a World Series.  Die hard Cubs fans believe to this very day that Murphy the goat is reason for the Cubs' failure.

1. The Curse of the Bambino 

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(Photo Credit: Topical Press Agency / Getty Images)

Though the curse was broken in 2004, Boston Red Sox fans know the pain from the curse of the Bambino.  In 1920, Red Sox owner and Broadway producer Harry Frazee sold star first basmen/outfielder/pitcher Babe Ruth to the rival New York Yankees for $125,000 in cash and a $300,000 loan.  The money from the trade was used so that Frazee could open the show "No, No, Nannette."  The trade is said to have triggered the 86 year World Series drought that included playoff diasters like Bill Buckner's error in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. 

Here are 10 Extremely Awkward Apologies In Sports History and Longest Suspensions In Sports History.

 

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