And In Today's Front-Page Osaka News . . .

"Ancient Colonel Sanders Statue Discovered In Osaka."

This odd story was on the front-page of the local Osaka newspapers today. Apparently, construction workers found a 24 year-old Colonel Sanders statue in the Dotombori River. The place of the Colonel (and this very statue) is well-established in Hanshin Tigers lore. This is a really great story.

As is well-known by Tigers fans, back in 1985, the last (and only) time the beloved Tigers won the Japan Series, exuberant fans yelled out the names of players, and fans who looked like that player jumped in the river. Lacking a gaijin fan with a beard who resembled superstar slugger Randy Bass (this guy flat-out dominated Japanese baseball like no other), the crazed fans grabbed the Colonel Sanders store-front plastic statue (as a replacement gaijin with beard; hey close enough!) and chucked it in the river. As legend goes, so began the Curse of Colonel Sanders, which has prevented the Tigers from winning the title ever since. (See example, last season's monumental collapse!).

(We're sure that Tigers fans really feel Mike Myer's in So I Married An Axe Murderer when he says "Oooh - I hated the Colonel. With his wee beady eyes, and that smug look on his face, like - oh, you're gonna buy me chicken.")

Anyway, it seems that today cosmic order may have been restored. Perhaps the Tigers can win again!