Cleveland Indians fans want to ensure the Chicago Cubs‘ “Curse of the Billy Goat” lives on, so two fans decided to take matters into their own hands by bringing a pair of goats to Progressive Field on Sunday.
“Everyone was really excited that I did it,” Alan Mancuso, an Indians fan who brought the two goats with his daughter Rachel, said Monday. “Especially those that know about the curse.”
Many Cubs fans seem to believe their team has not reached the World Series since 1945 and have not won it since 1908 because of a goat.
On Oct. 6, 1945, Billy Sianis, owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, arrived at Wrigley Field for game four of that year’s World Series with his pet goat, according to history.com.
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Sianis, who had a ticket for his goat, was either turned away at the gate or was allowed to enter but later asked to leave because his goat smelled, according to the website.
The angry owner then exclaimed, “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more.”
The Cubs lost in 1945 and have not reached the World Series until now. Game 1 is set for Tuesday night in Cleveland.
Mancuso and his wife Beth have three goats at their Ohio City home. While at church on Sunday, his friend Mark Duskey suggested they perform their own goat curse, he said.
Mancuso, 47, a lifelong Indians fan, agreed.
“I thought my wife would nix the idea,” but she agreed, he said.
With the help of his daughter, Duskey’s son and another friend, they lifted CC and Stardust into the back of Duskey’s minivan, along with a few piles of hay.
They took the goats out at several entrances around the field to remind the baseball gods about the curse. Mancuso said fans took selfies with the goats.
“This was to razz our friends in Chicago,” said Mancuso, who has long been a Cubs fan, too.
However, Mancuso said that as a Cleveland native, he will be cheering for the Indians on Tuesday night.
“I’m a bigger Indians fan,” he said.
CLEVELAND, OH – APRIL 12: Fans walk to the stadium prior to the Texas Rangers playing the Cleveland Indians for Opening Day on April 12, 2010 at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
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