Cubs Should Have Gotten A Catholic Priest

ExtremeDog · Oct 3, 2008

<h1>Curse removal backfires on Cubs</h1> <table width="515"> <tbody> <tr> <td> 

By Paul Sullivan

It was supposed to be a quiet ceremony with no publicity.

 

But when a TBS cameraman saw Rev. Father James L. Greanias spreading holy water in the Cubs dugout several hours before Game 1 of the Division Series on Wednesday, the priest from St. Iakovos Greek Orthodox Church in Valparaiso, Ind. knew the cat was out of the bag.

 

"Now I guess I'm just another Cubbie Occurrence," he said.

 

The seven walks by Ryan Dempster, the grand slam by James Loney, and the lack of clutch hitting from the Cubs sluggers can not be directly traced to Rev. Greanias' curse-removal ritual.

 

But the longtime Cubs fan understands what's coming next, especially if the Cubs bow out of the postseason in the first round. The decision to bring in a priest to remove the "Curse of the Billy Goat" may go down in

 

Cubs lore alongside all the other calamities in franchise history.

 

The story began a couple days ago, when Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney left a message on Greanis' voice mail to call him. Greanis thought his friends were playing a prank on him, but when he eventually got in contact with Kenney, he found out the reason for the call.

 

"He said, 'I'm a devout Catholic, and I'm not superstitious, but if there is anything there, I want to take care of it,'" Greanis said Thursday.

 

The Billy Goat curse was placed on the Cubs in 1945 when Billy Goat Tavern owner William Sianis was denied entrance to a World Series game at Wrigley Field because he wanted to bring in his goat. The curse was immortalized in newspaper columns over the years, particularly by syndicated columnist Mike Royko, and gained widespread attention during the 2003 postseason when Fox played it up during the Cubs-Florida match-up in the National League Championship Series.

 

Kenney told Greanis that they wanted a Greek Orthodox priest to bless the dugout, since the alleged curse was placed by a Greek-American.

"I told him 'I'm honored,'" Greanis said. "I said we'd bring some holy water and say a prayer. It's not for ensuring the Cubs winning, but for being safe and protected. I'm a priest first, and a Cubs fan second. I don't want anything to be mocked, and neither did Mr. Kenney."

 

Greanis came to Wrigley on Wednesday well before the media was allowed inside the park. But a TBS cameraman setting up near the dugout saw the ritual and got some of it on tape. TBS then aired it during their pre-game show, ensuring it would get national publicity.

 

The spreading of the holy water took about 10 minutes, as Greanis went up and down the dugout, getting it in every nook and cranny. The remaining holy water was poured out onto the field near the dugout steps where the players run out to their positions.

 

"It's not unusual," Greanis said. "In Greece, the priest blesses soccer teams, and they did it in the Olympics, too. It was not intended to be a p.r. stunt or anything."

 

The spreading of holy water in the Cubs dugout was nothing new. Former Cubs manager Dusty Baker was once given a gift of holy water from the Vatican from former Cubs media relations chief Sharon Pannozzo. Baker rubbed it on some of his players, including current Dodgers shortstop

 

Nomar Garciaparra, in hopes the Cubs would receive help from on high.

Fast-forward to Game 1 of the 2008 NLDS, and it's déjà vu all over again.

The Cubs loss in Game 1 on Wednesday put a damper on Greanis' day.

 

But he was also given two box seats for him and his son, and got to park in the players' parking lot. He remains confident the Cubs will come back, suggesting that "their three best starters are going in the next three games," referring to Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden and Ted Lilly.

 

"If they win the World Series, it will be kind of cool to be a footnote to history," he said.

 

And if not?

 

Well, it's just another Cubbie Occurrence.<a id="more"></a> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

Cubs Should Have Gotten A Catholic Priest

ExtremeDog

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