The Quadrennial Curse

I realized something Saturday night but I didn't want to bring it up until it was certitude.

Years ago someone realized that Philadelphia's four major sports teams, all in a championship drought, were taking turns getting to the championship in their respective sports in 4 year increments.

1993: The Phillies make it to the World Series and lose.

1997: The Flyers make it to the Stanley Cup Finals and lose.

2001: The 76ers make it to the NBA Finals and lose.

2005: The Eagles make it to the Super Bowl and lose.

And so, when the Philadelphia Phillies made it to the World Series in 2008 (Note: not 2009) I was glad that someone had finally broken the pattern. Far, far more important than that, they actually won. The first championship in this city in any sport in a quarter century and the first of my sports-watching life.

Ghosts exorcised, I put foolish superstitions out of my mind, happy that I had seen at least one championship in my lifetime.

It was Saturday when I remembered the pattern and wondered, where we would be if it were still going. "Well," I thought, "if the curse were to continue it would mean that in the year 2009, the Phillies ... would have to make it into the..... World Series.... and...... lose.

And so here we are 4 days later.

The oddness of the pattern, the fact that I hate it when my team loses and the fact that I hate the Yankees aside, I'm not going to whine about it. Pre-2008 I had always said that any and all teams can lose and suck as much as they want just as long as one team wins just one championship at some point. The Phillies were that team and I'm going to stick to my word. And on some level, just making it to the World Series the year after winning isn't too shabby.

All I'm saying is: all this Mayan calendar 2012 "end of the world" crap is ridiculous. Everybody knows the Philadelphia Flyers have to lose the Stanley Cup Finals in 2013.

The Current Record:

1993: The Phillies make it to the World Series and lose.

1997: The Flyers make it to the Stanley Cup Finals and lose.

2001: The 76ers make it to the NBA Finals and lose.

2005: The Eagles make it to the Super Bowl and lose.

2009: The Phillies make it to the World Series and lose.