The Curse of Ben!
I want to apologize to all my Pennsylvanian readers, particularly those who root for either the Steelers of the Nittany Lions -- they are doomed to failure in the upcoming season, and it is my fault.
But before I apologize, you must recognize that the recent, almost anomalous success of both teams this past season is also due to me, so please, give credit where credit is due.
Huh? What is this guy talking about? I'm talking about dreaded Curse of Ben. You see, whenever I change locales, whatever sports teams are associated with that location experience a year of unprecedented (or at least unexpected) success, followed by at least 3 more years of extreme mediocrity.
The proof is in the pudding, as they say. Let us examine a time line:
1996: Ben moves to Waco, TX. The Baylor Bears, for the first time in anyone's memory, BEAT UT in football. First Big XII conference win, certainly a huge deal at BU.
1997-2000: Baylor wins maybe 5 games, TOTAL.
2000: Ben moves to Seattle, WA. The UW Huskies go to, and win, the Rose Bowl
2001-2004: Huskies? Who dey? Too lazy to look it up, but even a winning record would have been a good thing for them in those years.
Also in 2000 (well, 2001, but still): Seattle Mariners tie the all-time win record with the 1906 Chicago Cubs, at 116 wins in a season.
Post 2001 season: Seattle Mariners trade every single one of their good players except Ichiro, their manager, and probably the bat boy just for good measure. Winning record? What's that?
2005: Ben moves to State College, PA. Nittany Lions are 11-1 (I think -- too lazy to check), perfect post-season play as well. Pittsburgh Steelers win the superbowl.
2006: Poor Ben Roethlisberger. The Curse of Ben begins. I apologize in advance for whatever calamity befalls PSU as well, but this might be a good year to place a bet against them.
Incidentally, in 18 years spent growing up in Arkansas, the Razorbacks, as good as they are, never won a championship. It wasn't until Ben was going to move away to TX that the Hogs became the NCAA basketball champions. I'm just sayin'.
But before I apologize, you must recognize that the recent, almost anomalous success of both teams this past season is also due to me, so please, give credit where credit is due.
Huh? What is this guy talking about? I'm talking about dreaded Curse of Ben. You see, whenever I change locales, whatever sports teams are associated with that location experience a year of unprecedented (or at least unexpected) success, followed by at least 3 more years of extreme mediocrity.
The proof is in the pudding, as they say. Let us examine a time line:
1996: Ben moves to Waco, TX. The Baylor Bears, for the first time in anyone's memory, BEAT UT in football. First Big XII conference win, certainly a huge deal at BU.
1997-2000: Baylor wins maybe 5 games, TOTAL.
2000: Ben moves to Seattle, WA. The UW Huskies go to, and win, the Rose Bowl
2001-2004: Huskies? Who dey? Too lazy to look it up, but even a winning record would have been a good thing for them in those years.
Also in 2000 (well, 2001, but still): Seattle Mariners tie the all-time win record with the 1906 Chicago Cubs, at 116 wins in a season.
Post 2001 season: Seattle Mariners trade every single one of their good players except Ichiro, their manager, and probably the bat boy just for good measure. Winning record? What's that?
2005: Ben moves to State College, PA. Nittany Lions are 11-1 (I think -- too lazy to check), perfect post-season play as well. Pittsburgh Steelers win the superbowl.
2006: Poor Ben Roethlisberger. The Curse of Ben begins. I apologize in advance for whatever calamity befalls PSU as well, but this might be a good year to place a bet against them.
Incidentally, in 18 years spent growing up in Arkansas, the Razorbacks, as good as they are, never won a championship. It wasn't until Ben was going to move away to TX that the Hogs became the NCAA basketball champions. I'm just sayin'.
Labels: meta
posted by Benjamin at 7:54 AM
2 Comments:
Ben,
It looks like you live in these places for four years.
I wonder what happens if you move after one year.
Can you do me a favor? Move to Buffalo so the Bills win their elusive Super Bowl, then get the hell out.
Love, Chris
Does what you say also apply to places where you work? Should I be starting a job search?
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