aka The Rodman Curse
The Utah sports runner-up jinx (or Rodman Curse) is an alleged curse on the city of Salt Lake City and the state of Utah that keeps their pro, college and minor league sports teams (mostly basketball) from winning major national or league championships. Limiting them to only second place at the highest. This hex has been shown strongly with the NBA Utah Jazz since the early 1990s, where the Jazz lack success in the NBA playoffs, despite posting winning seasons. Others feel that the jinx started in the years of 1997 and 1998, where two Utah teams lost three major basketball championships: The Jazz losing back-to-back NBA finals, and the University of Utah's men's basketball team falling in the NCAA Championship Game in 1998.
Some fans claim that the jinx has something to do with Karl Malone's failure to win an NBA championship or Coach Jerry Sloan's failure to do the same, while others feel it was Dennis Rodman of the Bulls who hexed the team when he stated that "Utah will never win a championship." (Rodman was known to dislike Utah.) And since then the Jazz, and all Utah sports, has not won a championship.
Some argue that the origin of the curse started earlier than Rodman's comments in 1998 and could also be related to a non-sports curse. The film series Poltergeist was filmed mostly in Utah; one of the scenes was shot in the parking lot of the Salt Palace, the home court of the Utah Jazz during the time of the filming. The film series itself is said to be heavily cursed.
Mother nature seems to be against Utah sports. On August 11, 1999, a rare tornado ripped through the Delta Center (the Jazz's home arena), taking out windows and even parts of the roof, although tornadoes are very rare in Utah.
In college sports, the University of Utah lost the NCAA championship game in men's basketball in 1998 to Kentucky. They ran out of gas in the final minutes and blew a 12-point lead. There is also a hex with the Runnin' Utes against the University of Kentucky: they fell to the Wildcats not only in the 1998 title game, but six other times in the NCAA Tournament: 1993, 1995, 1996, 2003, and 2005 (Despite having soon-to-be number one draft pick Andrew Bogut) and the 2000 Pre-season NIT. The College teams -- BYU and Utah -- and other teams such as the Jazz, have dominated their respective conferences and divisions, yet struggle nationally in their biggest and most loved sports (mostly basketball).
The last successful championships for Utah for basketball, was back in 1971 with the ABA Utah Stars. In Hockey, it was the 1996 Utah Grizzlies, whom won the Turner Cup (Two years before Rodman's comment). The last major college championship was when BYU won the football title in 1984, although BYU's '84 title remains a scource of sour grapes to several teams. Other non-winning teams include the Utah Sun Dogs of Roller Hockey International in 1999, Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer, and the Utah Blaze of the Arena Football League.
Moments from the curse:
- 1997: Utah Jazz losing 4-2 to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA finals
- 1998: The University of Utah Men's Basketball losing the NCAA Championship game to Kentucky, 78-69, blowing a second half lead of 12. This also goes along with Utah's unlucky losing streak with Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament since 1993.
- 1998: Utah Jazz losing again 4-2 to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA finals
- The Salt Lake Bees have lost the Pacific Coast League championship series in 1994, 2000 and 2003.
- 2005: Utah Snowbears ABA Basketball team had a great chance to win the title, after a 27-1 season. However, the team folded right before entering the championship, due to its financial problems. Ironically, this happened right after beating Dennis Rodman's team in the ABA playoffs.
- 2006-2008: The University of Utah Women's Gymnastics team finishes second to the University of Georgia in the Super Six three years in a row.
- 2008: Snow College Football team and the SLCC Men's basketball teams getting beat in their own National championship games.
- 2008: Real Salt Lake loses the Major League Soccer Western Conference Final to the New York Red Bulls 1-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium after multiple RSL shots hit the post.
- 2008: The University of Utah football team finished the 2008 bowl season ranked second, despite being the only FBS team without a loss, while the Florida Gators were ranked first, despite having lost to Mississppi.
BYU and most Utah colleges' struggles in Conference championship games and first rounds in NCAA Basketball tournaments in March.
Sports-related curses. (2009, January 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:35, January 17, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sports-related_curses&oldid=264598455
