Special: Curses and superstitions

This St Patrick’s Day, we ask what drives sports fans to believe in curses

An episode of the Amazing Sport Stories podcast, hosted by BBC World Service, titled "Special: Curses and superstitions" was published on March 14, 2024 and runs 27 minutes.

March 14, 2024 ·27m · Amazing Sport Stories

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Summary

From the Curse of the Bambino, to the Drake Curse, the Curse of the Billy Goat and the Curse of County Mayo... this St Patrick’s Day, we’re exploring why some sports fans and players believe their teams could actually be cursed. Why are sport and superstition so intrinsically linked? Whether it’s wearing lucky pants on match days, sitting in the same spot for every game or even peeing on the field before kick off - why do some of us seem to believe cosmic forces could help lead us to victory?After investigating an apparent 70-year-old curse on County Mayo‘s Gaelic football team, Irish-American sport reporter Dave McKenna is back for this special episode. He’s delving into the minds of fans and athletes to try to understand why sport and superstition seem to be so entangled.For Dave’s full, three-part investigation into the Mayo curse, scroll back to episodes of Amazing Sport Stories from the end of 2023 or search for The Curse of County Mayo, wherever you get your podcasts. Let us know what you think of #AmazingSportStories

Episode Description

From the Curse of the Bambino, to the Drake Curse, the Curse of the Billy Goat and the Curse of County Mayo... this St Patrick’s Day, we’re exploring why some sports fans and players believe their teams could actually be cursed. Why are sport and superstition so intrinsically linked? Whether it’s wearing lucky pants on match days, sitting in the same spot for every game or even peeing on the field before kick off - why do some of us seem to believe cosmic forces could help lead us to victory?

After investigating an apparent 70-year-old curse on County Mayo‘s Gaelic football team, Irish-American sport reporter Dave McKenna is back for this special episode. He’s delving into the minds of fans and athletes to try to understand why sport and superstition seem to be so entangled.

For Dave’s full, three-part investigation into the Mayo curse, scroll back to episodes of Amazing Sport Stories from the end of 2023 or search for The Curse of County Mayo, wherever you get your podcasts.

Let us know what you think of #AmazingSportStories

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