Cubs Billy Goat Curse and Beyond

If you're from Chicago, a baseball fan, or even just a lover of random superstitions and legends chances are you know about the Cubs Billy Goat Curse. The short version of the longstanding legend is that in 1945 local businessman William Sianis cursed the Cubs franchise for not letting him bring his petty Billy Goat into game four of the World Series. In 1984 new owners of the Cubs had a change of heart and let in the goat but the curse remained until now. November 2, 2016 is the day the Cubs finally won the World Series!

Whether you believe in the legend or not it makes a great story and so do some of these other superstitions...

According to Bleacher Buzz and a few hundred other sites online, there are some very odd superstitions in sports and below are just a few of the best.

1. “The Legend of the Octopus” started when a Red Wings fan threw one of the critters onto the ice during a playoff game in 1952—it represented the eight wins needed to secure the Stanley Cup during the era. After the incident, the Red Wings swept the playoffs and have dealing with the mess ever since.

2. Smelly, sweaty athletic clothes are part of the game, but some take this to a dirtier level. Tennis star Serena Williams will wear the same pair of socks throughout a single tournament run. She has blamed a change in her routine for tournament losses, so for Serena the stinkier the better.

3. An old superstition that dates back to the racing era before World War II, peanuts in the shell are almost never sold at or around a NASCAR event. Peanut shells are considered bad luck and according to racing lore, peanut shells were always found in the smoldering remnants of a badly wrecked car.

4. Baseball Utility player Elliot Johnson always puts a wad of grape-flavored gum in his mouth when his team takes the field. But when they come up to bat, he switches over to watermelon-flavored gum because he says the hits come with that flavor. Legend has it he once sent a kid to the clubhouse to buy the right gum.

5. Ronald Reagan, who was a radio announcer in Iowa right out of college, firmly believed in a now classic baseball superstition of teammates not speaking to a pitcher working on a no-hitter. So much so that even he’d never mention no-hitters on radio. Most current broadcasters still follow Reagan’s practice.

6. Dallas Maverick shooting guard Jason Eugene Terry's most odd superstition is the need to sleep in the opposing team's shorts the night before a game. Locating the right pair of trunks can be tricky but a network of equipment managers and fellow players keeps sleeping like a baby.

7. The 2006 Ecuador World Cup team brought in a shaman to visit all 12 World Cup venues in Germany in order to banish evil spirits. Creepy or crazy, the team had their best finish in World Cup history making it to the Round of 16.

Superstitions are not limited to sports but, according to Fact Monster, baseball players may be the most superstitious of all. Do you have a legend or superstition? Share your story, we'd love to hear what makes you feel better.