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The curse of the billy goat

5,649 Views | 24 Replies | Last: 10 hrs ago by Stat Monitor Repairman
maroongoon95
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Texas Aggie football is cursed. I have always believed it. But for some reason our fan base will not accept it. It was different for the Chicago Cubs fans. They totally owned it every year until it was broken in 2016 when they won the world series. 71 years it took. They named it the curse of the billy goat. I'm a true believer that our curse began the minute after we lost to the sips in the 1940 game. Only 7-0. This like hundreds of our past games we lost, we were favored to win. And if we win that game....we 90% chance win a back to back Natty. During media days, a reporter from CBS stated that we should have fell backwards at least 2 or 3 times into a Natty the past 60 years. He said it's one of the great mysteries of the world why we have not. Here are some notable curse games or incidents: 1963 loss to sips (refs), 1975 loss to Arkansas game, 1983 loss to Cal, 1985 loss to Baylor, 1994 tie SMU, 1994 probation no bowl( no tie no probation we probably win natty), Jackie Sherrill firing, 1992 loss to Notre Dame (1993 cotton bowl, win we are 13-0) 1995 loss to Colorado, loss to sips in 1995, loss to sips in 2011( phantom PI call by sip alumni ref), snow bowl loss to Mississippi State, LSU PI game 2012, horse collar game vs. Auburn, 8-4 2013 season with Johnny, missing out of play off in 2020, hiring of Fran, Sherman, and Jimbo ( not Sumlin tho at first). I could go on and write a book if I continued. As a result of the curse, I suffer from BAS. My therapy consists of focusing on off season production. We do claim numerous off season national championships however! For example, just as recently, EA sports video games reported that Kyle Field is the hardest place to play in all of college football. And of course every off season we receive news that we have the best band, loudest crowd noise, best facilities, most money. Finally on a positive note....if anyone can get us out of this curse, it's Coach Elko. Solid guy, no ego, just a very intelligent ball coach. Great hire!!
203Raggie
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aggiebrad94
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Writing Paragraphs for Dummies
greg.w.h
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Superstitions Demystified for Rational People
maroongoon95
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I started drinking 2 hours ago
An L of an Ag
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Impressive!
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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Quote:

1975 loss to Arkansas game | 1994 tie SMU, 1994 probation no bowl( no tie no probation we probably win natty) | LSU PI game 2012 | 1992 loss to Notre Dame (1993 cotton bowl, win we are 13-0) | missing out of play off in 2020
Of these, only the 1975 game against Piggy was a sure-miss on a potential NC game.

Yeah, without the tie in 1994 we are 11-0, but no guarantee for a national title appearance even without probation as that was still in the SWC era.

People love to say A&M would have won in 2012 if not for the LSU (or UF) loss; that is certainly a possibility but it's also a possibility that A&M going into Tuscaloosa as a 1-loss team might have gotten a little more of Bama's attention and we don't actually win it; even with the early onslaught, we still had to fake a punt deep in our own territory for an offsides call to actually win it.

You are correct that we'd finish the 1992 season undefeated, but my recollection in the month before those bowl games, literally no one mentioned A&M as a potential champ with a victory over the Irish; all of the talk was around the two other undefeated EAST coast teams (East Coast bias), Alabama and Miami, as being that season's national champs. Wasn't going to happen. Then of course the t-sip DMN found a way to hammer the Ags with a story that was essentially the same thing that got OU a slap on the wrist a decade and a half later or so.

We absolutely were screwed by the selection committee in 2020. Many on this site downplay our success that year, pointing to the Alabama blowout and eeking out the first game against Vandy. We had a close one against Florida, but that was the game that spurred us to not losing another game, and winning every one of those by double digits. We only had the game against Ole Piss cancelled due to the WuFlu. Ohio State received obvious favoritism when the BIG revised their rules as to who could participate in their title game. Notre Dame should never have been there with the whooping they took from Clemson.

Quote:

1995 loss to Colorado, loss to sips in 1995
1995 started with legit NC aspirations, with a pre-season #3 ranking. The loss to Colorado (#7 at the time) probably didn't kill those aspirations, but the next week's loss to Texas Tech did. Losing to tu sucked but that season was done by then.

The rest of those you listed are just losses. The 1983 Aggies finished 5-5-1, so that loss to Cal (I recall watching that one on TV, wasn't fun) didn't impact them any more than simply an ugly loss. Firing Jackie Sherrill was a big mistake, and I say that as one who loved RC Slocum as our head coach.
Iowaggie
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The Cubs Curse started (allegedly) because the Cubs kicked out the owner of the Billy Goat Tavern during the 1945 World Series because his goat was bothering people. He was the one who cursed the Cubs. The Cubs lost that world series and a lot more games until 2016.

Curse have to have a start. Perhaps some old concessionaire overcharged an important fan many years ago when the fan purchased a bag of peanuts for a nickel, a Coke for a nickel, and a chicken wrap for$2. The curse won't be broken until chicken wraps are given away.
dabo man
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I swiped this off of some Cubs fan's website in the late 90s. This is a great baseball story (admittedly better before 2016).
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The Chicago Cubs learned a long time ago how powerful curses can be when they are administered in anger.

When the Cubbies won the National League pennant in 1945, local tavern owner William Sianis decided to celebrate the event by taking his pet goat, Sonovia, to Wrigley Field for the fourth game of the World Series against Detroit. The Cubs, however, turned high and mighty on him, barring the billy goat at the turnstile.

Never mind that Sianis had invested $7.20 for the goat's box seat. The fact is that during the regular season, Sonovia had accompanied his owner to Cubs games with no fuss. Sianis demanded an audience and explanation from team owner Phillip K. Wrigley, who told him that, well, frankly, the goat smelled.

Outraged, Sianis cursed the Cubs, advising Wrigley that not only would they lose that Series but that they'd never even get into one again. And when Detroit prevailed, he sent Wrigley a telegram, saying simply, "Who smells now?"

Five years after the incident, Wrigley sent a letter to Sianis asking forgiveness. "Will you please extend to him (Murphy) my most sincere and abject apologies, and ask him not only to remove the hex, but to reverse the flow and start pulling for wins?" Wrigley wrote. Sianis replied to the press,"I never forgive. And I never forget. The goat died shortly afterwards of a broken heart."

Billygoat Sianis finally removed the hex in 1969, one year before he died, but the Cubs managed to blow a nine-game lead and had to think of a better excuse, namely too much day baseball. On July 4, 1973, the Cubs were in first place by seven games when current owner, Sam Sianis attempted to bring his goat Socrates into Wrigley field. Again the ushers held firm, and the goat was kicked out. The hex was back on "and the Cubs dropped out of first in two weeks. When the Tribune Co. bought the Cubs, they allowed Sam to bring in his goat on Opening Day, 1982. Though it has yet to change the team's luck, Sam recently said, "Hex ees off. I theenk they gonna have a winning team soon, then I bring goat to series. They have to let me in if they want to win eet. If they don't let me go in, eet's gonna happen to them like what happen to Sox last year."

When they lost the first 12 games in 1994, the Cubs had Ernie Banks march another billy goat around Wrigley. Chicago won the next game but still finished fifth that year.
whoop1995
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Interesting and doing some research on reveille maybe we (oh boy am I going to catch hell for this) are following the same parallels:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reveille_(dog)

https://myaggienation.com/history_traditions/reveille/dogs-ol-sarge-and-other-mascots-through-the-years/article_95ecc13c-f866-11e2-89c3-001a4bcf887a.html

Cadets find (hit by bus) a mixed mutt and keep in dorm room - from 1931-1944. Reveille 1

Several years go by with all kinds of dogs being introduced and we even had two dogs at the same time and the university refusing to pay for care of the dogs.

Then we went to one specific kind of dog and still do to present day.

The other dogs except one was buried on campus but their graves have probably been removed due to construction but their spirit roams the campus. Why don't we have grave markers to -Spot, Ranger 1 and 2, Rusty and Freckles in honor of their service? Until we do the curse might never get broken.
I collect ticket stubs! looking for a 1944 orange bowl and 1981 independence bowl ticket stub as well as Aggie vs tu stubs - 1926 and below, 1935-1937, 1939-1944, 1946-1948, 1950-1951, 1953, 1956-1957, 1959, 1960, 1963-1966, 1969-1970, 1972-1974, 1980, 1984, 1990, 2004, 2008, 2010
JohnLA762
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maroongoon95 said:

I started drinking 2 hours ago


We can tell…

WC94
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Thought this was going to be about Billy's goatee.
MD20/20
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I've been thinking we are cursed for some time. We just don't know why. That makes it even harder to deal with.
Al Bula
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I took the OP and made it better:

In the land of Aggie, a shadow of doom looms over the proud football warriors of Texas A&M. Many whisper of a sinister curse, much like the legendary tale of the Chicago Cubs and their cursed billy goat. The Cubs embraced their curse until it shattered in 2016 after 71 long years.

In the mystical year of 1940, after a crushing defeat to the malevolent sorcerers of the Sips by a mere 7-0, the curse began. It is said that if the Aggies had triumphed in that battle, they would have claimed the coveted back-to-back National Championships. Alas, the curse took hold, leading to countless inexplicable defeats despite being favored to win.

A wicked, villainous billy goat, embodiment of dark magic, has plagued the Aggie realm. Its nefarious influence is felt in numerous battles: the 1963 loss to the Sips due to treacherous referees, the 1975 loss to the Arkansas brigands, the 1983 loss to the Cal marauders, and the 1985 defeat by the Baylor legion. The cursed goat's malevolence struck again in the 1994 tie with SMU, bringing probation and the loss of a possible national victory.

The misfortune continued with the dismissal of the valiant warrior Jackie Sherrill, the 1992 loss to the Notre Dame knights, and the 1995 defeats by Colorado and the Sips. Dark sorcery was at play in the phantom PI call by a Sip alumni referee in 2011, the snow bowl loss to Mississippi State, the LSU PI game in 2012, and the horse collar game against Auburn.

The 2013 season, marked by the heroics of Johnny, ended with an 8-4 record, failing to break the curse. The years saw the hiring of various commanders - Fran, Sherman, and Jimbo - all failing to vanquish the evil billy goat, though Sumlin's initial efforts brought hope.

Cursed, the loyal followers of Aggie suffer from BAS (Bovine Affliction Syndrome), finding solace only in off-season triumphs. They claim numerous off-season national championships, with Kyle Field heralded as the most formidable arena in all the college realms by EA Sports. They boast the best band, the loudest crowd noise, and the finest facilities.

Yet, hope still shines in the form of the noble Coach Elko, a man of great wisdom and humility. The warriors of Aggie believe that if anyone can break the curse of the villainous billy goat, it is he, the great hire who may finally lead them to glory.
JustisWalkert
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In 2021, the football program was on an upward trajectory after a one loss record the prior year. Going into a home game against Mississippi State, there was hope for an eventual place in the college football playoffs and potentially a national championship.

But then we were cursed by an evil yellow eyed grackle who landed on the field and refused to leave. The program has not been the same since.
maroongoon95
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Absolutely well said!
nonregdaduck75
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and the use of paragraphs. Eng 104.
Aggie_Nuke
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We're already way past the Cubs Curse of 71 yrs.! Were at 85 years of mediocrity, and still counting.

Forget it, there's absolutely no reason to believe we'll break our curse this year..... and maybe never.


The ONLY valid ANNUAL goal for ALL Aggie Sports is a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!

Gig'em !
FTAC '73
whoop1995
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Aggie_Nuke said:


We're already way past the Cubs Curse of 71 yrs.! Were at 85 years of mediocrity, and still counting.

Forget it, there's absolutely no reason to believe we'll break our curse this year..... and maybe never.

But our bands record at halftime is undefeated for 129 years! Whoop!
I collect ticket stubs! looking for a 1944 orange bowl and 1981 independence bowl ticket stub as well as Aggie vs tu stubs - 1926 and below, 1935-1937, 1939-1944, 1946-1948, 1950-1951, 1953, 1956-1957, 1959, 1960, 1963-1966, 1969-1970, 1972-1974, 1980, 1984, 1990, 2004, 2008, 2010
halfastros81
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Curses are destined to be broken. In my lifetime? Only
Time will tell.
halfastros81
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Well, there was Rice 1983 . Just sayin. I will say it was
Maybe a draw considering the mob is almost impossible to lose to so perhaps the undefeated claim is still valid.

Thaddeus73
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Ask St. Mary's priests to include revoking any and all curses on Kyle in their blessing this year....

Stat Monitor Repairman
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The curse will remain in place until a bronze statue of JFF is put up in front of the house that Johnny built.

Inexplicable why this already hasn't been done.
Ghost of Bisbee
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A golden statue of John Sharp will be erected before a bronze JFF statue will methinks
Stat Monitor Repairman
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The most A&M thing possible then.
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