With the baseball season rapidly approaching, we're destined to hear more and more each day about the 101-year drought since the Cubs' last World Series victory and the curse that supposedly surrounds the team.
But the Cubs certainly aren't the only squad believed to be under some magical spell preventing them from reaching the promised land. And, when you compare their mystical plight to that of Japan's Hanshin Tigers, it almost seems boring.
After all, the Cubs' problems have nothing to do with
Colonel Sanders or Kentucky Fried Chicken.
A statue of the bearded fast food magnate was tossed into an Osaka river by overzealous
fans after a particularly rousing 1985 victory. The rabid crowd had lifted the
likeness from its base because it bore a resemblance to Tigers slugger Randy
Bass. For 24 years, efforts to find the monument at the bottom of the body of
water had been fruitless.
Until Tuesday.
Enter KFC.
In a
letter sent to the Cubs Thursday, KFC inquires about
the possibility of bringing the newly found Colonel to Opening Day at
Wrigley
Field. But even as the company offered to help banish the demons that
have surrounded the franchise, it couldn't help bringing up Steve
Bartman.
"Seeing as your 'recent acquisition' is in the midst of the
longest championship drought in U.S. professional sports history ... we
- at Kentucky Fried Chicken - want to help," the letter reads.
"We are working desperately with our Japanese colleagues to bring the curse-breaking Colonel Sanders statue to your field by opening day. While we can't promise the statue will snap curses of billy goats, black cats or even a foul-ball-interfering fan, we figure it can't hurt."
Consider it trying to kill two curses with one fried bird icon.
"It seems like the perfect opportunity, with the Colonel as an international symbol of good luck to give it a try," a KFC spokesman said. "The statue is part of a well-known legend in Japan and the Cubs have lots of similar stories like it as well."
The company would hope to borrow for the statue in order to bring it to the United States, hopefully for the opening homestand, the spokesman said. The spokesman said the Cubs had no response as of Thursday night.
Thanks for sharing this! Talking about KFC, KFC is promoting their new, healthier alternative option, Kentucky Grilled Chicken on April 27th. It is known as the KFC Free Grilled Chicken Day. Kentucky Grilled Chicken, the Original Recipe and Extra Crispy still come under fire from groups concerned with public health and heart disease, and animal rights groups protesting the treatment of chickens. A lot of people would give a cash advance to get more fast food chains to offer healthier fare. Regardless, KFC is still selling, and is a popular brand the world over. So anyone who didn't want to use installment loans to buy their own grill hopefully participated in KFC Grilled Chicken Day.