The Curse of Bo Jackson

As I was watching the Reds bullpen collapse against the Cubs last night, it began to make me think about the recent struggles Cincinnati has experienced in the postseason.  Whenever this comes up, people seem to joke around about the curse of Bo Jackson.  So I decided to do some research and figure out what exactly is "The Curse of Bo."

For those of you that live in a hole, Bo Jackson was the best multi sport athlete to ever live.  His strength was unbelievable and very few pitchers could pitch to him and nobody could tackle him.  Jackson was also known as "the best video game player ever."  If you played as the Raiders and you had Bo, no way in hell you were loosing. 

Well, it was January 1991.  The Bengals and Raiders were facing off in the AFC Divisional Round game.  Bo Jackson was tossed the ball right, the MLB and NFL All Star grabbed and broke a couple tackles and he was gone.  Nobody ever caught Bo, but this time they did. Kevin Walker dove for Jackson's legs and held on for dear life and eventually brought him down after a 34 yard gain. 

Bo Jackson tried to walk off and he did, but he was never the same.  Jackson said in a 30 for 30 about him called "You Don't Know Bo" that "he felt a pop; got up and popped his hip right back into place."  The Raiders team doctor thought that was impossible, but later on they found out that Bo needed a new hip and he did indeed pop it right back into his socket.  Bo would never be the same, or would Cincinnati sports.

Bo's MLB career would last just two more years until he was forced to retire and football did not last much longer.  Cincinnati fans have looked for a reason for many years of how or why the Sports Gods seem to hate on them in the postseason. 

The struggle is certainly there.  The Bengals have been to the playoffs 8 times since the injury and are 0-8. 

In 2005, it looked like the Bengals may finally break through and win a playoff game, but QB Carson Palmer tore his ACL on just the 2nd play from scrimmage.  In 2009 Cincinnati missed a lot of field goals as the game slipped away and they were upset by the Jets.  In 2011 and 2012 the Bengals were humiliated by the Houston Texans in the wildcard round. In 2013, The 3 seeded Cincinnti Bengals were playing a horrible San Diego team (who didn't deserve to be in the playoffs).  The Bengals entered as big time favorites at home......and lost by 18 points in a complete no show.  In 2014 the Bengals were once again demolished in the Wildcard round by 16 points to the Colts and who could forget this year, which may have been the most painful one of all against the Steelers in which the Bengals completely fell apart and lost to the Steelers 16-15. 

The Cincinnati Reds have not been much better.  In 2010 the reds had returned to the playoffs for the first time in a while.  After a fantastic regular season; the Reds drew the heavily favored Phillies in the first round.  The 1st game was indeed a struggle for the Reds: they were actually no hit by Roy Halliday.  At that moment the series may have not been over physically, but it was over mentally.  In game 2 the Reds had the game in their hand before they let a late lead slip away.  Cincinnati was blown out in game three and was swept in the series. 

In 2012 there was more hope than ever before.  Nobody actually believed the Reds would make a postseason run in 2010, but this year the city was buzzing.  The NL Central champs would take on the San Francisco Giants in round 1.  The Reds traveled out to San Fran for the first two games of the series, and they came away with wins in both.  The city thought the series was over, the fans thought the series was over, the Reds thought the series was over, and even the Giants thought the series was over.  All the Reds had to do was one of three games...and they were all at home. Once again the hopes and dreams were crushed and we, the fans, took another kick to the balls.  The Giants won all three games in Great American Ballpark against the Reds.  San Francisco would go on to win the world series that year. 

In 2013 the Reds just squeaked into the playoffs as the final wildcard team.  They were blown out against Pittsburgh in a one game, winner take all playoff game.  The Reds have won just one series (1995) since the Bo Jackson injury.

By the way, did you see the way Xavier and Cincinnati were eliminated in the NCAA Tournament this year?  Cincinnati seemingly tied that game on a buzzer beater dunk that was eventually waved off.  Xavier was upset by Wisconsin on a fade away three at the buzzer. 

All in all, the Cincinnati Bengals have not won a playoff game since 1991 (the game before the Bo Jackson injury).  The Reds won the world series in 1990, but have just one playoff series win since the injury.  The University of Cincinnati has been to one final four. Xavier have not been to the Final Four since the injury either. 

This quote appears on Bo Jackson's wiki page. "Some Bengals fans theorize that this injury to one of the greatest athletes ever placed a curse on the Bengals franchise (sometimes called "the curse of Bo Jackson")

So it's up the you to decide if Bo Jackson has cursed the city, but only Bo Knows the truth.