Getting the monkey off their backs

By By Tony Krausz/assistant sports editor
April 17, 2004
When Sports Illustrated claimed a certain place was going to freeze over and a certain team from the Windy City would win the World Series this year, we here at the Rants &Rambles office laughed.
The claim by SI went largely ignored because as the crack research team will tell you the Chicago Cubs haven't won it all since 1908.
But the laughter stopped last Sunday.
It's not because of how the Cubs are playing, those lovable losers from Chicago's south side are a half game back from the top spot in the Central Division, plus it's just too early in the baseball season to pass judgment on any team except for the Cleveland Indians (they stink).
No, the belly laughs concluded when Phil Mickelson sank his shot on the 18th hole in Augusta to win the Masters.
Suddenly the hapless Cubs, who were just a few outs and one fan reaching over the fence away from going to the World Series last year, didn't seem to be such a joke to win the World Series.
If Lefty can win a major PGA title, any thing is possible.
Plus as the R&R crack research staff pulled up, on the Chinese calender the year of the monkey started on Jan. 22 what better time for predominately losing clubs or individuals to start winning and getting the hairy primate mammal off their back.
Mickelson's win in Augusta in his 42nd try for a major title on April 12 officially marked the year of the loser in sports.
All those long losing franchises have hope in 2004, thanks to Lefty showing even the blind squirrel can find a nut.
SI may very well be right predicating the Cubs to win the World Series though, if it happens stock up on bottle water and can foods Y2K-style.
The year of the loser can reach farther than baseball.
Take a look at the NHL playoffs, it is actually conceivable that the Tampa Bay Lightning could lift Lord Stanley's Cup when it is all said and done.
That's right the other hockey team from Florida, which has only had three winning seasons in franchise history, could skate off with the Cup. The Lightning claimed their second straight Southeast Division title this season, and they are the top team in the Eastern Conference in the playoffs.
The Minnesota Timberwolves may win the NBA title or, at the very least, a playoff series.
Kevin Garnett's long wait in the frozen North to have postseason success can finally happen. He is again the best player in the league, and with Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell, he actually has a supporting cast for once.
Sacramento is dropping like a rock, Dallas plays on defense and the L.A. Lakers' drama has hit new peaks all of this could add up to Minnesota winning the West and then the title, if the T-Wolves can get past the Spurs.
Football could also be subject to the new rule of the loser in 2004.
The parity in the NFL has made it possible for any team to claim the Lombardi Trophy, so why not a long suffering franchise.
This coming season could produce a Philadelphia Eagles-Cincinnati Bengals match-up in the Super Bowl.
Scoff at the Bengals all you want, but in the year of the loser, even the only NFL team that can't seem to take advantage of the league's topsy-turvy world of free agency and salary caps can become a champion.
The Eagles could lift the monkey of their backs of being the junior varsity version of the Buffalo Bills and make a fourth straight NFC title game. But this time, the folks from Philly could win the championship and go on to take the Super Bowl.
The year of the loser could also turn Kentucky and Vanderbilt into winners on the college football field.
The Wildcats hold a horrible 144-318-17 record against current SEC opponents, while the Commodores come in with a 176-335-22 record against conference foes.
But why can't these teams turn it around like Mickelson and finally win?
It is hard to call Vanderbilt a loser when the university can claim Molly Sims as a distinguished alum. Any school that had a SI swimsuit cover girl roaming its halls can never truly be a loser.
Mickelson has opened the flood gates for win-column challenged folks in sports.
The Klitschko brothers even have hope of winning a boxing match, women's tennis players can believe that the Williams sisters, when healthy, are beatable and soccer can think it might actually catch on in the U.S.
Don't laugh, any thing is possible in the year of the loser and the monkey.