WeMustBeCursed's Definition for: The 2 Types of The Curse

The other day, one of my roommates asked me to expand upon the definition of a "common case of a curse." He argued that this plagued only a small handful of teams, and said I had a fascination with it because I was a Mets fan. His favorite sports team? The Dallas Cowboys. My response: yeah, you guys have suffered from it too. (Even though Romo's jersey never looked so good)

It made me realize though that this curse manifests in different ways. Outlined below are the 2 different types of a common sports team's curse (potential expansion later):

The Never Have, Never Will Fan


These fans aren't even fortunate to have an ounce of hope. They either have never won or haven't won in so long that most of their fan base don't own a picture of them in a championship t-shirt without diapers. For this fan base, the familiar curse offers a safety net, for as each year passes by and their hope dwindles a little further, the rationalization of "maybe we just can't" gives them an outlet. Dream on, Never Have, Never Will Fans, because when it happens (which I know you know it eventually will), it will be the greatest moment of your sports fan life.


Perfect Example: Who else? The Cubs, who haven't had a pennant since 1945 nor a World Series championship since 1907. Someday, fans...

Also considered: The Washington Nationals, The Detroit Lions, The Toronto Maple Leafs etc.

Reason for Hope: The Boston Red Sox and the New Orleans Saints were able to do it, why not you?


The Love-Hate Relationship Fans


Man, life hurts for these fans. They are in a love-hate relationship with their team. They show them nothing but love, and are shown nothing but what would appear as hate back. (Probably that big bulky facemask that got in the way, right? Now do you see why I have an obsession with you-know-who's odd headset?). The main qualification for entering this fan base is that your team has to lure you in real close before they break your heart. Whether that be a well played first half in a championship game or even a decisive, feel good victory in a late playoff game, they got you (even though the G-men got their Superbowl, maybe the curse was in who got the MVP...) This curse hurts a lot more, but the silver lining is teams suffering from this close but no cigar curse are usually better at shedding it. (Still waiting..., still waiting...)

Perfect Example: The list of contenders is long. After last year's NFC Championship game and the subsequent OT playoff rules change, I gotta go with the Minnesota Vikings. The aforementioned Gary Anderson debacle sure woulda been helped out by this new rules change too. But hey, I got time on my hands.

Also Considered: Way too many to count.

Reason for Hope: Like I said, this curse can be less long lasting than the Never Can, Never Will Fan suffers from.

There it is. These two categories are broad and will be expanded in the near future. See, a lot more of us are cursed than we think...