The Curse of the Colonel Edition

Colin here. Osaka exudes a distinct atmosphere compared to Tokyo. The locals bring a touch of wit and warmth that contrasts with the more reserved expressions of Tokyo's commuters. Here, you'll hear "okini" in place of "arigato," and you can't miss the fervent support for the local Hanshin Tigers baseball team. However, the team has long been shadowed by a peculiar local legend: a curse believed to have caused their prolonged championship drought, allegedly triggered by the defilement and disposal of a KFC statue in a nearby canal. You can’t make it up.

The Japan Times offers more insight:

On October 16, following the Tigers' clinching of that year’s pennant — their first since 1964 — jubilant fans converged on the Ebisu Bridge in the Dotonbori district of Osaka. The celebrations took a wild turn as fans, each representing a player, leapt into the river below. But with no one to embody the team’s bearded American star, Randy Bass, the fans improvised. In a bizarre twist, they snatched a statue of KFC’s founder, Col. Harland Sanders, from a local restaurant and tossed it into the river’s murky waters.

Why is this interesting? 

Superstition adds a layer of excitement to sports, and the “Curse of the Colonel” is just one thread in a tapestry of beliefs, fears, and coincidences that enrich the experience of sports fans worldwide. A similar tale is the "Curse of the Bambino," which haunted the Boston Red Sox after they traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1919.

However, it seems even the Colonel's curse has an expiration date. After 38 years, the Hanshin Tigers finally broke free, vanquishing the Orix Buffaloes with a resounding 7-1 victory in Game 7 last Sunday night at Osaka’s Kyocera Dome to clinch their first Japan Series title in nearly four decades. (CJN)

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Thanks for reading,

Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN)

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