Let's start with the hook: Yesterday in Osaka, construction workers recovered a statue of Colonel Sanders from the Dotonbori River, where it had been resting and collecting muck for 24 years.How did he get there? In 1985, the Hanshin Tigers -- the most popular baseball team in the area -- won the Japan Series, throwing fans into a frenzy. Fans dressed to resemble players from the Tigers' roster dived into the very dirty river in central Osaka. But there was nobody around who looked like American slugger Randy Bass.
Nobody, that is, except The Colonel, who like Bass was not Japanese and had a beard.
Naturally, the horde of fans elected to uproot a statue of The Colonel from a nearby KFC chain store (of course they have KFC) and toss it into the river.
But ever since that victory nearly a quarter century ago, the Tigers have fallen flat, failing to win another championship. It was dubbed the Curse of the Colonel, becoming a major sports urban legend in Japan.
Now, with the chicken baron's resuce, diehard fans are predicting a turn of fortune for the Tigers. A KFC Japan spokesman even wants to erect the statue somewhere in the team's famed Koshien Statium (maybe left field?).
Now, looking ahead to the start of the proper baseball season, we can watch closely to see if the Curse really is over. I'll go a step further. If the Tigers don't win it all this season, I say the statue goes right back into the river for another 24 years.
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Here now is a Japanese news report on the events:
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