WHITNEY'S CURSE?
NEW YORK'S PROBLEM, NOT OURS
We all know about the Curse of Billy Penn.
Philadelphia once had a long-standing “gentlemen’s agreement” under which no building would ever exceed the height of the William Penn statue atop city hall, but when the construction of One Liberty Place was completed in the mid-1980s, Philly's sports teams (which had enjoyed a decade of championships starting with the Flyers’ 1974 Stanley Cup) suddenly lost their edge.
Indeed, during the 25+ years between the Sixers’ 1983 title and the Phillies’ 2008 World Series victory, Philly’s 4 teams – the Phillies, Eagles, Sixers, and Flyers – came close many times but never once won the big one. 100 sports seasons, 0 championships.
The curse ended only after a 4-inch tall William Penn figurine was placed atop the final beam of Philadelphia’s new tallest building, the Comcast Center, in 2007.
Surely no other city with teams in all 4 major sports (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL) has endured such a drought... or has it?
While no 4-sport city has had a 25-year championship drought, there is one such city whose MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL teams have now collectively gone 124 straight sports seasons without a title.
That city is New York.
New York’s last major sports title was the Giants’ Super Bowl XLVI win in February 2012. Since then, the New York area’s sports teams – the Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, Knicks, Nets, Rangers, Islanders, and Devils – have gone down 124 times and counting, making Philly's 100-season futility streak seem mild by comparison.
There must be a curse at work here, but who or what caused it?
Could it be… Whitney Houston?
The legendary performer and New York area native tragically passed away in 2012 at the young age of 48. It happened just days after the Giants won Super Bowl XLVI. During Whitney’s lifetime, New York area teams won no fewer than 24 championships. In the 13 years since? None.
We have no idea why a nice lady like Whitney Houston would have placed a curse on New York’s teams. But what if she did? And if she did, what can New York do to break the curse?
We Philly sports fans don’t know. And we don’t care. Whatever the cause, New York’s teams keep falling short. And we love it when they do.
It is perhaps the greatest love of all.
