Among the various ‘Sports Curses’ listed on Wikipedia are the San Diego Sports Curse, the Cleveland Sports Curse, the Curse of Billy Penn, and, of course, the Curse of the Bambino.
One ‘curse’ that has gained popularity in recent years is the ‘Super Bowl Curse’. It has not made it into Wikipedia yet but if the trend continues much longer, it will show up there also. It typically applies to the loser of the Super Bowl but has also rubbed off on many winners (’06 Steelers, ’03 Bucs, ’01 Ravens, for example). The curse basically states that the loser (and winner not named the New England Patriots) of the Super Bowl is going to have a poor season following the SB appearance. This could be due to player defections, injuries, and/or poor play on the field. Just bad luck in general.
Last year, the Seahawks muddled through 2006 and squeezed out a division championship, barely, at 9-7, but it was obvious they were not the same team they were the previous year. Player defections, injuries, and poor play nearly kept them out of the playoffs in a weak division, which would have been an embarrassment. Last year’s Seahawks were the first Super Bowl loser to finish with a winning record or make the playoffs in 6 years but they readily admit that they weren’t anywhere near the same team.
There has been a lot of discussion here at PSH regarding the curse and WHY it exists. Is it bad luck? Is it all in the player’s heads (lack of confidence)? Is it league parity? No matter WHY it’s happening, there does seem to be a trend. The question is, will it continue?
THE HISTORY OF SUPER BOWL LOSERS:
The curse is a rather recent phenomenon. For instance, during the decade of the 1990’s, which started with the 1st of 4 straight Bills Super Bowl losses, only 2 teams failed to turn in a winning record after losing the Super Bowl. 8 of the 10 Super Bowl losers continued to win the next year, which is obviously very solid.
However, starting with the New York Giants after Super Bowl XXXV, who followed their significant defeat to the Baltimore Ravens with a 7-9 record the next year and finishing with last year’s Seahawks, the Hawks were the only team able to turn in a winning record the season after losing the Super Bowl. Once in 6 tries isn’t very good.
THE HISTORY OF SUPER BOWL WINNERS:
The curse may not be exclusive to the losers. In fact, the only team that has been immune to winning OR losing the Super Bowl is the New England Patriots. Starting with Super Bowl XXXV mentioned above, the Baltimore Ravens made the catastrophic mistake of dumping Trent Dilfer, their starting QB in the SB victory, in the off-season in favor of an expensive free agent, Elvis Grbac. That gamble obviously didn’t pay off and the Ravens have spent the last several years trying to get back to the top.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl after the the 2002 regular season and have only turned in 1 winning season since. And then there are the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers. If there is a ‘curse’, it battered the Steelers bloody before the 2006 season even started and they had to fight just to turn in a .500 season after winning it all the year prior.
IS THERE A CURSE?
9 of the last 10 Super Bowl participants haven’t returned to the championship game after appearing once and those 9 participants win an average of nearly 5 (yes, FIVE) fewer games the next season. Excluding the Patriots, the winners win an average of 3.3 fewer games the next season. The losers do even worse, winning an average of 5.7 fewer games the following season. If history plays out with the Colts and Bears, the Colts will finish 9-7 and the Bears will finish 7-9. Ouch!
I don’t personally believe in ‘curses’ as they relate to voodoo, black magic, etc. However, I DO believe in players losing their tenacity after coming up short of a goal the size of a world championship or becoming lazy after accomplishing said goal.
THAT, to me, is the ‘curse’ ………….. and the Bears (and Colts) both need to avoid falling into the same trap that so many teams have fallen into recently ………….
