Curse of The Billy Goat - Attempts To Break The Curse

Attempts To Break The Curse

Sam Sianis, nephew of Billy Sianis, has been brought out onto Wrigley Field with a goat multiple times in attempts to break the curse: on Opening Day in 1984 and 1989 (in both years, the Cubs went on to win their division), in 1994 to stop a home losing streak, and in 1998 for the wild card play-in game (which the Cubs won).

In 2003 (incidentally, the Chinese zodiac's Year of the Goat), a group of Cubs fans headed to Houston with a billy goat named "Virgil Homer" and attempted to gain entrance to Minute Maid Park, home of their division rivals the Astros. After they were denied entrance, they unfurled a scroll, read a verse and proclaimed they were "reversing the curse." The Cubs won the division that year and then came within five outs of playing in the World Series but were undone by the Florida Marlins' eight-run rally immediately following the Steve Bartman incident, which occurred the same day that Wrigley Field denied entry to a goat accompanying Sam Sianis. They then lost the following game and with it the series (the Marlins went on to win the World Series against the New York Yankees.) Further salting the wound, the Astros earned their first World Series berth two years later (they would be swept by the Cubs crosstown rivals, the Chicago White Sox).

In another bizarre twist, it was reported that a butchered goat was hung from the Harry Caray statue on October 3, 2007, to which The Chicago Sun-Times noted: "If the prankster intended to reverse the supposed billy goat curse with the stunt, it doesn't appear to have worked." While the Cubs did win the NL Central Division title in 2007 and 2008, they were swept in the first round of the playoffs in both years: by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2007 and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008. The elimination by Arizona came on October 6, the same date that the goat appeared at Wrigley Field in 1945.

The act was repeated before the home opener in 2009, this time a goat's butchered head being hung from the statue. The act was futile as the Cubs were eliminated from postseason contention on September 26, 2009. Cubs fans have also brought in priests that have blessed the field, stadium, and dugout.

On April 1, 2011, a social enterprise called Reverse The Curse, dedicated to bringing innovations to Poverty by giving goats to families in developing countries, was initiated. The goats provide the family with milk, cheese, and alternative income to help lift them out of poverty. Reverse The Curse has expanded into reversing the curses that afflict the world's children in Education and Obesity.

On February 25, 2012, a group of 5 Chicago Cubs fans calling themselves Crack the Curse set-out on foot from Mesa, AZ to Wrigley Field. They brought along a goat named Wrigley whom they believe will be able to break the Curse of the Billy Goat upon arrival at Wrigley Field. Additionally, they are trying to raise $100,000 for the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Facility.