Some say the Blue Jackets have incredibly bad luck because of Nationwide Arena’s construction on top of the old Ohio Pen.
Some say it’s a strange karma thing with Ohio State. (After all, this team didn’t get hot last year until the Buckeyes blew it in the Big Ten title game.)
Some say that the Hockey Gods were offended by someone putting holy water in the zamboni, once upon a time, and some say that it’s just Ohio Sports, and that’s what happens in Ohio Sports.
No matter what the cause, when you look at the Blue Jackets, it’s pretty clear that they’ve been laboring under an incredible streak of bad luck, and the hits just keep on coming.
Going off the theory that the team may, in fact, be cursed, I decided to take a look around for some answers.
The definition of a curse is some form of spell that is directly targeted at a person or place and is meant to cause harm. The specific one that sounds about right is an “entropy curse.” Supposedly, the trademark of this curse is that there is no rhyme or reason to the harm caused, it just results from things generally “going wrong.”
Boy, that sounds familiar.
After doing a little research, there’s a few ways that The Internet suggest breaking a curse, particularly related to bad luck, so let’s take a look at a few, and see what might be possible.
- Salt is considered a “cleansing” element in many cultures, with methods ranging from surrounding a building with a ring of salt (possible, but messy!), bathing in saltwater (easy enough for the players, though getting the building itself may require the assistance of the fire department and a few pump trucks), or burying the cursed object within a box of salt. (Leaving aside the fact that we’d need a new building to play in after that, I don’t see Franklin County going for this one, either. Plus, where would we find a box that size?)
- Incense or sage are frequently burned to “smudge” a place. While I’m not opposed to the idea of some sage in the locker room (it smells a lot better than sweaty gear!), there’s a lot of logistical issues with trying to fill the entire arena (and perhaps the whole arena district!) with smoke, no matter how nice it might smell.
- While I doubt a broken mirror was involved, I did find a lot of suggestions to take the pieces of a broken mirror, grind it down, and scatter the dust. If anyone happens to have a broken mirror, a grinder, and access to the roof level of the arena parking garage, well…it couldn’t hurt, could it?
- Some traditions suggest creating a “mojo bag”. The idea is that you put several “ingredients” into a bag (seeds, crystals, herbs, and hair clippings are common), then keep it with you at all times. If attached to the fight strap on the jersey, it might just work…
- Good deeds and alms are the last “common” solution to a curse – something the team has already been engaged in, but perhaps it isn’t a coincidence that last night’s win came on a night where the club was collecting coats for those in need?/
As fun as these ideas are, the real answers are likely to be at the heart of what makes someone lucky (or unlucky) in the first place. Stop focusing too much on the things you can’t control. Don’t let a focus on “the game plan” keep you from spotting chance opportunities. Adjust your thinking, focus on the positives (how about Kerby Rychel?), and break out of routines.
Combine that with guys like Brandon Dubinsky, Mark Letestu, and Ryan Murray hopefully returning to the lineup soon, and perhaps we’ll see this team’s luck finally turn around.