(allthingsclevelandohio.blogspot.com)
For those who follow sports, you've probably heard about all of the curses in sports...
- The Chicago Cubs haven't won the World Series in over 100 years
- The Boston Red Sox went 86 years without winning the World Series after trading Babe Ruth.
- No Philadelphia team won a championship until after a small figure of William Penn was placed on top of the skyscraper that surpassed the original William Penn statue in height.
- Any NFL athlete that appears on the cover of John Madden's video game suddenly gets a career ending injury or just tanks in general.
If you want to read about all of the curses you can check them out here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports-related_curses
With all of these curses affecting the sports industry, only one curse has gone undetected. This curse is, " The curse of demolished stadiums." I've been compiling a list of cities who have demolished their stadiums, arenas, and/or ballparks, and as I was scrolling through the list I noticed one thing: No team in any of those cities has enjoyed success after demolition of the old facility the team played in.
For some teams, the curse has been felt the moment they left their old facility. For other teams, the curse didn't go into effect until the old facility was actually demolished. Let's take a look at some of these cursed teams.
The Dallas Cowboys
Known as "America's Team," the Dallas Cowboys enjoyed much success at Texas Stadium. All 5 Super Bowls won by the Cowboys occurred while Texas Stadium was their home, including 1971-72 which was the inaugural season for Texas Stadium.
The Cowboys set the stadium bar high when they built the legendary Texas Stadium and it's semi-retractable roof for $35 million. In 37 years of games, the Cowboys compiled a
a 219– 99 record there, including 16 post-season games.
But on December 20, 2008, the Cowboys played their last game in Texas Stadium, a loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Cowboys played their first preseason game in Cowboys Stadium on August 21, 2009, and Texas Stadium was later imploded on April 11, 2010.
From the beginning, the curse of Texas Stadium has hit the Cowboys strong. Since moving into Cowboys Stadium, the Cowboys have gone a mediocre 17-15 and have never gotten past the NFC Divisional round of the NFL Playoffs.
This article sums it up best...
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/442599-the-curse-of-texas-stadium-is-haunting-the-dallas-cowboys
If you travel down to the old site of Texas Stadium, just outside of Dallas, you can hear voices of the ghosts of football past still moaning, "Why did you end it that way? What were you afraid of? Texas Stadium has put a curse on the Dallas Cowboys. You will never win another Super Bowl again!" But why are these voices speaking these words? What did the Cowboys do to deserve The Curse of Texas Stadium?
The Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers and Tiger Stadium were synonymous for an amazing 87 years when the Tigers played there from 1912 to 1999. Many great players such as Hank Greenberg, Ty Cobb, and Jim Bunning have played at Tiger Stadium. In fact, it is believed that Tiger Stadium (which has been demolished) is STILL haunted today.
http://www.blessyouboys.com/2010/9/3/1667271/was-tiger-stadium-haunted-an
Authors Dan Gordon's and and Mickey Bradley's new book, Field of Screams: Haunted Tales from the Baseball Diamond, the Locker Room and Beyond, features ghost stories from around the major leagues, coming from quite a few recognizable players. These are drawn from more than 1,000 interviews, they say.
I'll share one that Gordon recently passed on to me.
Extended quote with permission from authors:
"Former and current Tiger Stadium and Comerica Park employees share stories with the authors about the ghost of Ty Cobb and other hauntings at the former and current ballparks. At the corner of Michigan and Trumbull, security guards reported encounters with orbs and apparitions. They felt taps on their shoulder and heard eerie noises. They saw scratches form on their forearm. Other staff reported hearing voices in the tunnels and the roar of the crowd coming from empty seats. And fans claim to have heard the crack of the bat and seen Ty Cobb running the bases.
"At Checker Cab Company, across Trumbull Boulevard, workers at night swear they hear people walking around the second floor, which used to hold offices for Ty Cobb and longtime Tigers owner Frank Navin. Rumor has it the two men are still patrolling their old stomping grounds.
"Stories abound of ghosts at the final game at Tiger Stadium. Hall of Famer Al Kaline told Robert Fick that he would homer during the game. Fick followed suit rocketing a grandslam in the eighth inning off the rightfield rooftop, the location where Norm Cash had hit four memorable home runs out of the park. Fick, who was wearing Cash's uniform #25 in tribute, believes Cash may have intervened. He also believes his late father was present. Fick has a picture of himself rounding second base during the historic home run with a light shining down on his helmet.
''It seems like the ghosts of Tiger Stadium were with us,' recalls Jeff Weaver. 'There were reasons why things happen. It sends chills down your spine.''
Although the Tigers moved to Comerica Park in 2000, the ghosts appeared to be satisfied as long as old Tiger Stadium still stood. Although they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, the Tigers made an impressive appearance in the 2006 World Series.
But in 2008, things changed. The city of Detroit decided to ignore the efforts of the Tiger Stadium Conservancy, who had even managed to obtain federal stimulus funds, and began demolishing Tiger Stadium on June 30, 2008.
Since then, things have all gone down hill. Acquired superstar Dontrelle Willis never produced and the Tigers have never been back to the playoffs much less the World Series. From 2008 to 2010, the Tigers have posted a 241-246 record, a far cry from their 2006 95-67 record.
The Indiana Pacers
Back in the late 90s/early 2000s, the Indiana Pacers were as popular as the Indianapolis Colts are now. Every town you visited in Indiana was filled with Reggie Miller jerseys and fans. Every year, Market Square Garden was filled with fans who fully expected their Pacers to make another run at a NBA Finals Championship.
From 1974 to 1999, the Indiana Pacers made Market Square Arena the premier place to be on game nights. Led by shooting guard Reggie Miller, the Pacers made the playoffs 8 of the last 9 years they played at Market Square Arena. This success prompted Pacers owner Herb Simon to demand a new arena which would later be known as Conseco Fieldhouse.
For the 1999-2000 season, the Indiana Pacers played their final game at Market Square Arena (which was a preseason game) before moving to Conseco Fieldhouse for the regular season. That same year, the Pacers made their one and only appearance in the NBA Finals.
But on July 8, 2001, Indianapolis decided to go ahead with demolishing Market Square Arena. This decision doomed the Pacers franchise almost immediately. During the middle of the 2001-02 season, the Indiana Pacers traded for Ron Artest. Ron Artest was the leader in the Pistons-Pacers brawl that forever reshaped the franchise in 2004...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacers%E2%80%93Pistons_brawl
Since the Pacers/Pistons brawl, the Pacers organization has never been fully recovered. The Pacers have never returned to the Finals and have been unable to get past the Eastern Conference Semifinals. As a result, attendance has dropped steadily. This past year, the Pacers ranked dead last in attendance...
http://www.wthr.com/story/14398091/pacers-have-worst-attendance-in-nba
The Pacers have also experience significant financial woes and have been rumored to be relocating...
http://www.sportingmadness.ca/2009/05/aquilini-to-bring-indiana-pacers-to.html
All of this started the year Market Square Arena was demolished.
The New York Yankees
The curse of old Yankee Stadium is a fresh one that is just developing. Once known as the "Cathedral of Baseball," no one thought the New York Yankees would ever leave historic Yankee Stadium. From 1923 to 2008, the Yankees called old Yankee Stadium home for all but 2 seasons when they played at Shea Stadium while old Yankee Stadium underwent renovations. During this time, the Yankees won 26 World Series titles.
But on April 16, 2009, the Yankees played their first regular season game in new Yankee Stadium directly across the street from old Yankee Stadium. During construction, the Yankees took extreme caution to making sure that new Yankee Stadium would not be cursed, including digging up a Red Sox jersey buried by a construction worker...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/13/AR2008041302593.html
Although there has been a major wind tunnel coming from the direction of old Yankee Stadium, the Yankees initially enjoyed much success at the new ballpark. The Yankees won their 27th World Series title in 2009.
But in November of that same year, demolition began on the outfield bleachers of old Yankee Stadium. Although it hasn't been long ago, nonetheless, the Yankees have lost their World Series charm. The Yankees fell miserably to the Texas Rangers in the 2010 ALCS and there has already been cracks reported in new Yankee Stadium's concrete...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/nyregion/24stadium.html
The Miami Hurricanes
For 70 years the Orange Bowl served as the home to the Miami Hurricanes football program. It also served as the host for the Orange Bowl game from 1938 to 1995 and in 1999. Lastly, it hosted the Miami Dolphins from 1966 to 1986.
The Orange Bowl saw the NFL's only undefeated team (1972 Dolphins) and 5 Super Bowl games. The Orange Bowl served as an intimidating home field for the Hurricanes who won 5 NCAA National Championships.
But in 2008, the Hurricanes announced that they would be moving to Dolphin Stadium so that the Orange Bowl could be demolished for a new Marlins ballpark. Since that announcement, all hell has broken loose for the Hurricanes football program.
Many Hurricane fans vocally opposed the decision to move stadium locations and preferred maintaining the Orange Bowl as the Hurricanes' home field, out of concern of Dolphin Stadium's extra distance from campus, the severing of an icon of the Hurricanes' historical successes on the field, and potentially more expensive parking costs.
Many fans have even stated to various broadcast, print and internet-based media outlets that they will no longer attend the games of Hurricanes football, once the team abandoned the Orange Bowl. Some speculate that the decision to leave the Orange Bowl might have cursed the Miami Hurricanes and would cite the Miami Dolphins as a precedent. Indeed a common explanation for the Miami Hurricanes' poor performance during the 2007 season is that "they've never been the same since they left the Orange Bowl."
Recently, things have gotten even worse. Recently, former Hurricane booster Nevin Shapiro has alleged that he provided a wide-array of improper benefits to Hurricane athletes. The allegations are so bad that some are wondering if the NCAA will give Miami the death penalty...
http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2011/8/17/2368528/miami-hurricanes-scandal-death-penalty-nevin-shapiro
Other Stadium Curses To Watch
New York Mets- Shea Stadium: The Mets have fallen off the charts since Shea Stadium has been demolished.
Baltimore Orioles- Memorial Stadium: The Orioles have never been a threat in the AL East since Memorial Stadium has been demolished.
Indianapolis Colts- RCA Dome: When the Colts went to the Super Bowl after playing their games in the RCA Dome, they won the Super Bowl. When they went to the Super Bowl after the RCA Dome was demolished, they lost.
Ironically enough, the greatest success story in the sports industry has been the Boston Red Sox's decision to save Fenway Park after many hours of hard work from fans and activists in Boston. It paid off for them in 2004...
http://efqreview.com/NewFiles/v22n2/ballpark.html
That year, both the curse of the bambino and demolished sports venues were retired from Boston.
What can explain this phenomenon? Is it the ghosts of those who have played in these legendary venues? Is it a fate that will await any city who demolishes their legendary venue? Or is it just a coincidence that is bound to run its course sooner or later?
Whether you believe it is a curse or a coincidence, the stats speak for themselves. If Evansville demolishes Roberts Stadium, history will not be on our side as we look to take our Aces to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference. The last thing we need is to be on the wrong side of history.
There are a lot of great athletes, singers, and celebrities who have made appearances at Roberts Stadium over the soon to be 55 year history of this great facility. There have also been numerous events and games at Roberts Stadium that have filled Evansville's rich history book. Will the ghosts of Roberts Stadium look favorably upon demolition? Or will they place a curse upon us that has already been seen with the Cowboys, Tigers, Pacers, Yankees and Hurricanes?
Let's make sure we are in harmony with the ghosts of Roberts Stadium's past. LET'S SAVE ROBERTS STADIUM!
(michaelatsovg.files.wordpress.com)
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