Chicago Cubs: Does fans premature tattoo bring bad luck?

A Chicago Cubs fan joined the ranks of the questionable with a recent tattoo. After winning a radio contest, he got a “World Series Champions” inked on his leg. Was this supreme confidence or stupidity?

Every year you see them. One confident (or insert another descriptive word) gets a tattoo of his team as World Champions. Often times, it’s a team that’s having a little bit of success and the pressure just boils over into a ridiculous tattoo. Most of the time, there’s no payoff. The fan ends up with a tattoo that just makes them look silly at best. So now that it’s a Cubs fan, is it any less ridiculous?

Noel Brown of Des Moines, Iowa is the man in question. 1460 KNXO was the radio station that held the contest, and Lucky Gal Tattoo and Piercing was the studio that did the work. Now, there may not have been a better time to get such a tattoo. Had he gotten it, say, two years ago in the spring? There would be no debate. But, here is the new art in all its glory.

Tempered excitement for the Cubs

He’s confident. I’ll give him that. While I don’t have any tattoo’s of my favorite teams, I wouldn’t hesitate to get one. But never have I considered this. Cubs’ fans are full of superstitions. The goat. Steve Bartman. The black cat. All of these leading to the belief that for many years this team was cursed.

The Cubs are headed to the playoffs for the second straight year. Last season, they made the NLCS as a surprise team. Expectations were different entering 2016. This team is built to win. A group of young players and veterans were primed to go. They haven’t disappointed. 101 wins and counting. The best record in baseball no matter how they finish. National League Central Champs. And they also own home field advantage through the NL Playoffs.

So is Noel just a blend of all our hopes for this Cubs team? While some have some trepidation with this team, is he the one that speaks for many of us? I know I’m confident that this team can win it all. I might not say that openly, or often, but that’s how I feel.

Curse revived?

Or is it possible that the curse had been lifted, only to have this act call it back? Is this worse than the goat? Should he have tattooed Bartman on his leg instead? How you feel about this will fall back on your beliefs in this crazy curse stuff. If you don’t believe in any of it, this guys tattoo means nothing to you. You believe that poor management and lack of talent led to the many years of losing–not a goat, Bartman or a black cat.

But if you were there when they destroyed the Bartman ball–believing it was part of the curse–this could be terrible news. The radio station is partly to blame. But that’s okay. My hope is that Noel becomes a bit more well known for this tattoo.

"“As a Cubs fan, you’ve gotta be optimistic,” Brown said before getting inked in a video posted on the station’s Facebook page. “They will win. Statistically, this is the best year they’ve had since 1945. They’re set to win, they will win.“If they don’t, I still have a pretty awesome tattoo,” he added."

How you reacted to reading that statement will likely let you know where you stand on this “curse or no curse” business. Personally, I’m on the “no curse” side, but I still feel this was bad juju. Let’s hope not.