The most relentless sports curses of all time

Some teams have all the luck, and some were destined for misfortune.

While injury issues, poor coaching, and ill-advised trades may explain the persistent failures of franchises like the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Indians, and Buffalo Sabres, some fans believe something far more sinister is at play.

From a Rolling Stones frontman ruining his home country's World Cup chances to a farm animal placing a 108-year-old jinx on the Cubs, the sports world has witnessed a number of bizarre fiascos and outrageous outcomes that can only be explained by the supernatural.

Even if you're just a "little stitious," you'll be hard-pressed not to buy into these uncanny coincidences that seemingly spoiled certain teams' successes.

With Halloween right around the corner, here are five of the most relentless curses in sports history.

The Mick Jagger curse

For some strange reason, legendary rocker Mick Jagger can't get no satisfaction when he watches his team play.

Back in 1998, Jagger was spotted in Saint-Etienne for a match between England and Argentina, in which the Three Lions lost on penalties.

Ever since, England has endured a similarly sad fate when its famous fan demonstrates his support. 

Before the 2014 World Cup, Jagger took to Twitter to wish "the best of luck" to England before its first group game, which it lost, 2-1, to Italy. 

Jagger doubled down and sent more luck England's way before the next group match, only to see Uruguay boot the Three Lions from the World Cup with a 2-1 victory.

Jagger was present to see his home team fall 4-1 to Germany in South Africa in 2010, as well.

During that World Cup, he also backed the USA and Brazil, and watched both of them lose, to Ghana and the Netherlands, respectively.

Brazilians now refer to Jagger as "Pe Frio," which translates to "cold foot," while England fans hold their breath every time the Rolling Stones icon publicly cheers for his team.

The Drake curse

In the United States, another musician has developed a reputation for unintentionally sending bad luck to teams.

When rapper Drake endorses a player or franchise by wearing their jersey or attending their games, the side he's rooting for will usually come up empty-handed.

Examples include the Alabama football team, Kentucky's undefeated 2014-2015 team that lost in the Final Four, Conor McGregor, Anthony Joshua, and rumored former girlfriend Serena Williams.

The lone exception to the curse is the Toronto Raptors, who upset the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals, with Drake, a Toronto native, sitting courtside in a Raptors jersey.

While his home team was spared from his wrath, the Phoenix Suns weren't so lucky.

Back in 2016, Drake broadcast his fandom for Suns guard and former Kentucky player Devin Booker during a concert.

His ode to Booker came back to haunt the star guard in 2021, as his Suns failed to secure the franchise's first championship and fell to the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals.

The curse of the Honey Bears

It would also come as no surprise if Drake had a Chicago Bears jersey tucked away in his closet, based on the bad luck this franchise has endured since 1986, the year Drake was born.

But before we go blaming the artist for another team's lack of riches, the real reason fans think this one-time dynasty endured a reversal of fortune has to do with a decision made by principal owner Virginia Halas McCaskey.

The daughter of George Halas assumed ownership of the Bears in 1983 and wanted to make a few subtle changes that ended up costly.

One such alteration was the removal of the cheerleading squad, the Honey Bears, who last skipped around the sidelines in 1985, the same season Chicago won its last Super Bowl.

With the Honey Bears in its corner, Chicago had a .521 win percentage and 4-3 postseason record. Without the Honey Bears, Chicago is 6-12 in the postseason and has yet to return to the Super Bowl.

Interestingly enough, the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, and Los Angeles Chargers are among the six other NFL franchises that do not employ cheerleaders.

The Madden curse

The Honey Bears are just one of a handful of hoodoos that surround the NFL, but none is more famous than the Madden curse.

In 1999, Electronic Arts began to feature star players on the cover of its Madden video game series, instead of the game's namesake, former head coach John Madden.

Since the change, a majority of players promoted by Madden have gone on to suffer a decline in play or a serious injury soon after.

Barry Sanders, Eddie George, Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick, Ray Lewis, Adrian Peterson, and Rob Gronkowski are among a long list of stars who were affected by the curse.

In 2019, it appeared Patrick Mahomes might be the latest casualty, when he went down with a dislocated knee, but he was able to return to play after three weeks and went on to win the Super Bowl.

Many fans considered the Madden curse broken after that, but Mahomes played with fire and landed on the cover of Madden 22, alongside Tom Brady.

Through only seven games this season, Mahomes has thrown nine interceptions, while his 3-4 Chiefs are at risk of missing the postseason for the first time in his career.

The curse of the Billy Goat

Now for a curse that lasted more than a century and seemingly brought about additional curses to bestow excruciating pain to Chicago Cubs fans.

It all started with the Curse of the Billy Goat, an apparent hex placed upon the franchise when a local bar owner, Billy Sianis, was kicked out of Wrigley Field during the 1945 World Series because surrounding fans complained about the stench from his pet goat, which Sianis brought with him.

Upon his exit from the stadium, an angry Sianis allegedly exclaimed, "The Cubs ain’t gonna win no more. The Cubs will never win a World Series, so long as the goat is not allowed in Wrigley Field.”

Chicago went on to lose the World Series and didn't reach the playoffs again until 1984.

The Billy Goat curse was so merciless, it brought about other strange occurrences over the last several decades.

In 1969, a black cat found its way inside Shea Stadium and ran past the Cubs dugout during a close division race against the Mets, who went on to win the contest and the World Series that year.

There was also the Steve Bartman incident in 2003, in which the fan infamously stretched out a glove to snag a foul ball in Game 6 of the NLCS and prevented Moises Alou from making a catch that might have helped the Cubs seal a win.

In 2015, Chicago confronted the Mets in the NLCS and were swept, as infielder Daniel Murphy hit a home run in all four games of the series.

Murphy, by the way, was the name of Sianis' goat.

As if the coincidences weren't weird enough, the Cubs finally had the Curse of the Billy Goat lifted on Oct. 22, 2016, the 46th anniversary of Sianis' death.

On that day, Chicago won the NLCS against the Dodgers, which set up a meeting with another cursed franchise, the Indians.

Chicago bested Cleveland in the 10th inning of Game 7 in the 2016 World Series, after a sudden, torrential downpour forced a 17-minute rain delay and had fans wondering if these teams had somehow upset the baseball gods by competing for a title.