This worked well until the name of first baseman Randy Bass was shouted out .
Randy Bass was an American . He ’d spent six seasons in Major League Baseball with five different teams before his contract expired , and he wound up playing professionally in Japan . The change suited him . He became one of the most powerful hitters in the story of Japanese baseball game . With him on the team , the Tigers shot through the patronage .
Since he was a Westerner , the assembled crowd did n’t have anyone who resemble him to spring into the river . Which is when they decided to abduct a statue of dissipated - food mascotColonel Sandersfrom a nearby Kentucky Fried Chicken . With this stolen statue , they comport on their jubilation , tossing the Colonel into the Dotonbori River .
The Colonel fall off quickly , along with the repose of the backup the Hanshin Tigers ever hop to win . Thirty years have gone by , and Tiger fan have been convinced that the Colonel had cursed them . Fans had some hope when , in 2009 , much of the statue was find and fished from the river . The statue was missing an arm and the Colonel ’s glasses , though , and fans vex that until the statue is made whole again , they wo n’t gain another serial .
Superstitions are nothing newfangled in sports . Boston Red Sox rooter thought the team was magnificently cursed for 80 years for trading away Babe Ruth in what was called " the Curse of the Bambino . " And , of course of action , Cubs ' rooter are intimate with the curse of the Billy Goat .
Athletes have their own superstitious notion outside the world of fans , too . Dick Harmon , sports editorialist for the Deseret News , tell us by email about his experience with athletes in this way : " Athletes by their nature tend to be superstitious , particularly when it amount to preparing for events . I ’ve seen role player wear the same socks underneath their actual game socks , listen to the same song or euphony , eat the same solid food , hit the bathroom at a the same meter before pass out on the court or orbit … I do n’t think this is incubate out of fright , but of comfort ; not of jinxing themselves but prepare their nous square . "
Fans of the Hanshin Tigers are still looking for a agency to set their idea direct after the Curse of the Colonel .
Today , Randy Bass has retired from baseball game and is a pol rather . He currently serves as a Democratic country senator in Oklahoma , exemplify District 32 .
