If I ever wrote a book,( I've considered it, but seems very cliche and a lot of work) I would probably write about dodgeball, fantasy sports, dodgeball v. dating, different parallels, (as I was advised by my English teachers from 5th-8th grade: write about something you know) .......or a surprising new topic I've come across recently: being bad luck for the home team at every sports event I go to.
If anyone believes in curses, I certainly do now. About 2 years I started going to a lot of sports events in different events as part of my "travel the world" phase, and in that time I've tried to go to as many sports events as possible. A big chunk of that is credited to the 10-day baseball road trip I took to Midwest America in 2014, one in which the home teams went 1-9. Here's a list of results of sporting events I can remember:
1.) 2014 MLB playoffs: Angels v. KC ALDS, game 1@ Anaheim: Angels lose 2-1 in extra innings
2.) 2015 NFL Chicago Bears v. Arizona Cardinals @Soldier Field: Bears lose 48-22.
3.) 2015 MLB Arizona Diamondbacks: lose 3-2 to Oakland A's
4.) 2015 NCAA Football USC @ Arizona St.: USC wins 42-14.
5.) 2015 NHL Stanley Cup Game 7 Western Conference Finals: Chicago Blackhawks @ Anaheim Ducks: Chicago wins 5-2.
6.) 2015 MLB Dodgers v. Oakland A's at Dodger Stadium: Oakland wins 2-0.
7.) 2014 Oakland Raiders v. Houston Texans @ Oakland Colisseum: Raiders lose big.
8.) 2014 USC v. Arizona State @ Trojans Colisseum- Arizona State wins on a last second hail mary.
9.) 2014 NBA Conference Semifinals, Los Angeles Clippers v. Oklahoma City Thunder Game 3: on my literal birthday, the Clippers lost @ home to the Thunder.
10.) 2015 Toronto Blue Jays v. Tampa Bay Rays ( Yes, the curse even follows me to other countries) @ Rogers Center in Toronto: 3-2 Blue Jays loss.
11.) 2014 Clayton Kershaw Bobblehead night: Phillies 7-3 over the Dodgers @ Dodger Stadium.
So literally, (I wish I was making this up), since May of 2014 I've went 1-20 for the home teams. And it doesn't matter which sport I go to: baseball, hockey, basketball, football, college or pro, you name it, I'm making it hell for the home teams.
Note that not all of these games I wanted the home team to lose, and it's not like the home teams were major powerhouses or even favored to win in a bunch of these contests. But still, it's an alarming trend, and one that makes me believe in curses, especially after what I've been through in dodgeball the last year or so. It's not easy going to these home defeats neither: the crowd doesn't get into it, people are angry, there's no fireworks boosting up the home fans, fans start leaving early and the excitement is gone, general depression. It actually makes my viewing experience less enjoyable.
If it hasn't been done before, it'd definitely be a cool book idea: maybe make it into a fiction, make the curse even more pronounced, add some love angles where the main character is down on his luck with sports but starts meeting romantic interests and starts getting lucky in love, or starts gathering media attention, or starts getting paid by Las Vegas sports gamblers to go to certain games to "fix" them, etc., etc. Seems like the next great box office movie, really. If "Moneyball" or "Fever Pitch" did well, this idea can't be the worst......It reminds me of the movie "The Cooler" with William H. Macy, he has such bad luck any time he sits at a table he immediately cools down hot streaks and makes everyone lose money.
I don't know when my Home Team curse will be lifted, but if anyone wants to give me tickets to any home games to make the visiting team win.......
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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