The Curse of the Colonel

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by asoapymessromances

by asoapymessromances

The Curse of the Colonel(Japanese: カーネルサンダースの呪い,romanization: Kāneru Sandāsu no Noroi) refers to a 1985 Japaneseurban legend regarding a reputed curse placed on the JapaneseKansai-based Hanshin Tigers baseball team by the ghost of deceasedKFC founder and mascot Colonel Sanders.

The curse was said to be placed on theteam because of the Colonel's anger over treatment of one of hisstore-front statues, which was thrown into the Dōtonbori River bycelebrating Hanshin fans before their team's victory in the 1985Japan Championship Series. As is common with sports-related curses,the Curse of the Colonel was used to explain the team's subsequent18-year losing streak. Some fans believed the team would never winanother Japan Series until the statue had been recovered They haveappeared in the Japan Series three times since then, losing in 2003,2005 and 2014.

Comparisons are often made between theHanshin Tigers and the Boston Red Sox, who were said to be under theCurse of the Bambino until they won the World Series in 2004. The"Curse of the Colonel" has also been used as abogeyman threat to those who would divulge the secret recipe ofeleven herbs and spices that result in the unique taste of hischicken.

History

1985 Japan Series

The Hanshin Tigers are located inKansai, the second largest metropolitan area in Japan. They areconsidered the eternal underdogs of Nippon Professional Baseball, inopposition to the Yomiuri Giants of Tokyo, who are considered thekings of Japanese baseball. The devoted fans flock to the stadium nomatter how badly the Tigers play in the league.

In 1985, much to the nation's surprise,the Hanshin Tigers faced the Seibu Lions and took their first andonly victory in the Japan Series, largely due to the efforts of starslugger Randy Bass, an American playing for the team.

The fan base went wild, and a riotouscelebration gathered at Ebisu Bridge in Dōtonbori, Osaka on October16, three weeks before the Japan Series. There, an assemblage ofsupporters yelled the players' names, and with every name, a fanresembling a member of the victorious team leaped from the bridgeinto the waiting canal. However, lacking a Caucasian person toimitate MVP Randy Bass, the rabid crowd seized a plastic statue ofColonel Sanders (like Bass, the Colonel had a beard and was notJapanese) from a nearby KFC and tossed it off the bridge as aneffigy.

According to the urban legend, thisimpulsive maneuver cost the team greatly, beginning the Curse of theColonel, which states that the Tigers will not win the championshipagain until the statue is recovered. Subsequently, numerous attemptshad been made to recover the statue, often as part of a variety TVshow.

18-year losing streak

After their success in the 1985 series,the Hanshin Tigers began an 18-year losing streak placing last ornext-to-last in the league. Brief rallies in 1992 and 1999 broughthope to fans, but they were soon followed with defeat.

During this time attempts were made torecover the statue, including sending divers down and dredging theriver, but they all failed. Fans apologized to the store manager, butthe statue remained in the canal and the Tigers "cursed".

2002 World Cup

Although the leap into Dōtonbori canaland the Curse of the Colonel is usually associated only with aHanshin Tigers victory, in 2002, when Japan beat Tunisia in the WorldCup, some 500 fans jumped into the canal as a celebration, in spiteof heavy police security.

In addition, a Colonel Sanders statuewas taken from the storefront of a KFC in nearby Kobe and its handswere cut off, supposedly in imitation of Sharia law.

2003 Central League

In 2003, the Tigers had an unexpectedlystrong season. Their chief rivals, the Yomiuri Giants, lost theirstar player Hideki Matsui to the New York Yankees, while the Tigerssaw the return of pitcher Hideki Irabu back to NPB after playing withthe Texas Rangers. The Tigers won the Central League to qualify forthe Japan Series, and many newspapers speculated that the Curse ofthe Colonel had finally been broken. The Tigers lost the JapanSeries, this time to the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, so the curse ispresumably intact.

Fans were enthusiastic about winningthe Central League, and repeated the celebratory leap into DōtonboriCanal. However, instead of the individual leapers representing theplayers, over 5,300 fans plunged into the canal.

Many KFC outlets in Kobe and Osakamoved their Colonel Sanders statues inside until the series was overto protect them from rabid Tigers fans. The replacement ColonelSanders statue in the Dōtonbori KFC branch was bolted down toprevent a repeat of the incident.

Death in the canal

For 24-year-old Hanshin Tigers fanMasaya Shitababa, the 2003 celebration was a tragedy. He drowned inthe canal, with all reports being that he had been shoved in by therevelers. To prevent future incidents, the Osaka city council orderedthe construction of a new Ebisubashi bridge beginning in 2004, whichwill make it more difficult for fans to take the celebratory leapshould the Curse of the Colonel be broken and the Tigers win again.

Recovery of statue

The Colonel was finally discovered inthe Dōtonbori River on March 10, 2009. Divers who recovered thestatue at first thought it was only a large barrel, and shortly aftera human corpse, but Hanshin fans on the scene were quick to identifyit as the upper body of the long-lost Colonel. The right hand andlower body were found the next day, but the statue is still missingits glasses and left hand. It is said that the only way the curse canbe lifted is by returning his long-lost glasses and left hand.

The statue was later recovered (withreplacement of new glasses and hand) and returned to KFC Japan. Asthe KFC restaurant that the statue originally belonged to no longerexists, the statue was now placed in the branch near Koshien Stadium.

In popular culture

In the video game Sonic Adventure, astatue of an older man with a moustache stands outside of a fast foodrestaurant in Station Square. Making reference to the curse, a nearbygirl sometimes warns the player not to throw it into a river.

In episode 16 of the anime series Killla Kill the statue can briefly be seen in the background with itshead sticking out from the Dōtonbori River.

The Colonel Sanders curse was the firstclue in the Connections round of the Horned Viper wall in Episode 26,Series 17 of the popular quiz show Only Connect.