On the eve of yet another chapter of this recent Geelong / Hawthorn rivalry and the constant references to the now infamous 'Kennett's Curse', what do people make of these supposed 'curses' that hang over a team?
Are they total rubbish or is there a little more to it? Personally, I believe that whilst there isn't the classic hag-with-her-hex, there is definitely an element of self-fulfilment about them.
By which I mean some event or comment is seen as the original 'curse' (usually in retrospect), the media highlights it, then the fans pick up on it.
It is whether the players also pick up on it that it becomes genuinely interesting to observe. The most famous cases of supposed curses have involved very competent teams that are often in the running to win whatever league / championship in which they are participating, but seem to fall at the final hurdle through something out of the ordinary happening, so it is not simply one team dominating the other through sheer quality.
So getting back to the Cats and Hawks, do you believe Brad Sewell when he said that this run of 10 consecutive losses against Geelong is irrelevant to tomorrow night's game? Does he believe it? How much does Jeff's comments from 5 years ago matter?
GUTTMAN'S CURSE
With Real Madrid winning the first 5 European Cups from 1956-1960, Benfica finally broke the Spanish giants' stranglehold on the trophy by winning the 1961 & 1962 competitions. Their manager was a Hungarian named Bela Guttmann who, having overseen this spectacular achievement, thought it not unreasonable to ask for a pay rise. Amazingly, the board refused his request, to which he stormed out of the office, saying that the club would not win another European trophy for 100 years.
It has been 51 years since that proclamation and in that time Benfica have lost no less than 7 consecutive European finals, despite having some brilliant teams and plenty of domestic success in those decades. Eusebio, Benfica's greatest ever player and the focal point of the '61/'62 Cup-winning teams, has even prayed at the grave of Guttmann to remove the curse, but to this day, it lives on.
Does anyone have any other good ones they have heard about?
Are they total rubbish or is there a little more to it? Personally, I believe that whilst there isn't the classic hag-with-her-hex, there is definitely an element of self-fulfilment about them.
By which I mean some event or comment is seen as the original 'curse' (usually in retrospect), the media highlights it, then the fans pick up on it.
It is whether the players also pick up on it that it becomes genuinely interesting to observe. The most famous cases of supposed curses have involved very competent teams that are often in the running to win whatever league / championship in which they are participating, but seem to fall at the final hurdle through something out of the ordinary happening, so it is not simply one team dominating the other through sheer quality.
So getting back to the Cats and Hawks, do you believe Brad Sewell when he said that this run of 10 consecutive losses against Geelong is irrelevant to tomorrow night's game? Does he believe it? How much does Jeff's comments from 5 years ago matter?
GUTTMAN'S CURSE
With Real Madrid winning the first 5 European Cups from 1956-1960, Benfica finally broke the Spanish giants' stranglehold on the trophy by winning the 1961 & 1962 competitions. Their manager was a Hungarian named Bela Guttmann who, having overseen this spectacular achievement, thought it not unreasonable to ask for a pay rise. Amazingly, the board refused his request, to which he stormed out of the office, saying that the club would not win another European trophy for 100 years.
It has been 51 years since that proclamation and in that time Benfica have lost no less than 7 consecutive European finals, despite having some brilliant teams and plenty of domestic success in those decades. Eusebio, Benfica's greatest ever player and the focal point of the '61/'62 Cup-winning teams, has even prayed at the grave of Guttmann to remove the curse, but to this day, it lives on.
Does anyone have any other good ones they have heard about?
