The Curse May Be Over

Sorry Cubs fans, not that curse (unless something spectacular happens over the next several days - beginning tonight). I'm speaking of the Detroit Lions' "Curse of Bobby Layne."

In the 1950s the Detroit Lions were a dominant team in the NFL. They won three NFL championships and were a perennial contender. Then in 1958 they traded their Hall-of-Fame quarterback Bobby Layne to Pittsburgh. According to legend Layne declared that the Lions would not win for 50 years as he left for the Steel City.

That curse expires in two days. That's eleven days too late for former General Manager Matt Millen, and a day late for their home game against the Bears. Is it a coincidence that Matt Millen was fired less than two weeks before the end of the curse? I don't think so. I also believe that there are some other teams that may be looking at curses of their own:

1. New England Patroits: "The Curse of Eric Mangini." Sure, the Patroits won every regular season game after Eric Mangini outed them for their curious videotaping practices, but it might not be a coincidence that they lost the Super Bowl to the underdog Giants and then lost their starting quarterback the first week of the season.

2. New York Yankees: "The Curse of Joe Torre." This one seems a lot more likely. The Steinbrenners fire Joe Torre and the Yankees miss the playoffs for the first time in fifteen years. Meanwhile, Joe Torre has lead the Dodgers to their first postseason win since 1988.

3. Los Angeles Lakers: "The Curse of Shaq." I think Shaq said it himself: "Kobe can't do it without me..." Since O'Neal left the Lakers in 2004 the Lakers have appeared in exactly one NBA final, which they lost. Might Shaq's immature feud with Kobe Bryant curse the Lakers for many seasons to come? Only time will tell.

So congratulations are due to the Detroit Lions. It appears that their curse will soon be behind them and they can beginning winning again next season...or will they?