Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Curse of November 8th

In "V for Vendetta", V ominously proclaims, "Remember, remember the 5th of November." This might have been three days premature. It turns out that for Cincinnati Reds fans, the 8th of November is the day that must be remembered.

Baseball is a game full of curses: Curse of the Bambino (Red Sox), Curse of the Black Sox (White Sox), as well as other scapegoats used by teams who haven't produced a post-season appearance for decades. In this case, however, the curse is real. How do I know this? Well, I am the reason for the curse. Allow me to explain...

Back in June, the Yankees came to town and I was planning on attending the big game. As I left work early that afternoon, there was a tremendous thunderstorm in full swing. My parents made it all the way up to Cincy when it was announced that the game was canceled. I was crestfallen, to say the least. Fast forward to this past Monday evening. My parents and I made our second attempt at attending a Reds game. With Skyline for dinner, great seats for $15, and humidity as an unwelcome companion, it was bound to be a great night. At the completion of the second inning, the rain delay began. What a grandaddy gully washer! An hour and a half later, the game resumed. I got my ice cream in a plastic helmet, and then left after the 5th inning.
What are the odds that the two games I picked at random to attend, both get rained out? Furthermore, the game I was actually able to attend amid precipitation resulted in a loss. Double curse points. To completely solidify my curse, the Reds haven't been to, let alone won, a World Series since 1990-the year in which I was born. Bam! There you have it, I am the cause for the heartbreak year after year that is synonymous with The Cincinnati Reds. Curses.

P.S. I'm pleased to announce that I've been accepted to write for Bleacher Report!! I'm moving up in the sports writing world! If you would like to read my articles, then follow this link: http://bleacherreport.com/users/591506-alex-thomas. I'll try to write occasionally for this blog, but my main focus has turned toward my opportunity at B/R.