The Chico State baseball team is no stranger to curses. Whether it’s the 17-year National Championship drought or the near misses in the playoffs, the Wildcats luck hasn’t shown on the diamond.

Chico State isn’t the only one suffering from a baseball curse, as both the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians have struggled to win both a pennant and World Series for decades.

The Cubs and Indians are proof that a baseball curse is easily dispelled with the right level of dedication from a team’s players, as both are competing in the World Series. With only one team able to walk away with the win, both team’s are doubtful that a second place trophy will be enough to break the losing streak.

The Cubs have not returned to the World Series since 1945 and were given the nickname the loveable losers by their fans and organization. The alleged curse against the team came from a man named William Slanis, who was kicked out of Wrigley field for bringing his goat to a game.

Stanis then cursed the organization by stating that the team would never win again, beginning the origin of the cursed Cubs.

A black cat is traditionally a bad thing in American culture, but no other team has felt the effects as much as the Cubs in 1969. During the Cubs National league Championship run a black cat ran around lead hitter Ron Santo, which fans attribute to the team’s loss.

Even the late Bernie Mac allegedly had a hand in cursing the Cubs in 2003, when he announced the team as the champions in game six of the National League Championship Series.

The “jinx” of Mac was the result of the team making a major error that forced a seventh game in the series, where the Cubs finally lost to the Marlins.

The Cubs aren’t the only ones with a string of bad luck, as the Cleveland Indians have not been to a world series since 1997, and have had a 68-year winning drought.

The Indians troubles began in 1960, with the curse of Rocky Colavito, the homerun leader of the league at the time. After being traded to the Detroit Tigers, Colavito cursed the organization for poor management and for blindsiding him.

Disrespectful icons have plagued several organizations, but the curse of Chief Wahoo seemed to stick with the Indians until removing the symbol in 2013. After portraying a racist image as their logo, fans of the Indians believed the losing streak to be the result of it.

Whether or not any of these curses are true or simple coincidence, only one team will walk away with peace of mind and a World Series win. The success of the Cubs and Indians to break free from the superstitions against their organizations proves that curses are only an excuse to rely on.

Jordan Jarrell can be reached at [email protected] or @ChicoOrionJJ on Twitter.