Goat ends Cubs losing streak but still banned from Wrigley Field

The five Chicago Cubs fans who trekked nearly 1,800 miles with a goat to break the Chicago Cubs' so-called "Billy Goat Curse" arrived in Chicago on Monday— the same day the team ended a 12-game losing streak— but were told goats are banned from entering Wrigley Field.

The group planned to bring "Wrigley" inside for Tuesday's game, but were told the Cubs still wouldn't allow the animal into the park.

Instead, the celebrated animal (a 22-pound Nigerian dwarf goat) was the center of attention outside the stadium as the five trekkers continued to raise money for cancer research by selling t-shirts with the slogan "Crack the Curse" printed on them.

Maybe it was a coincidence the losing streak ended the same day the group ended their three-month journey— or maybe it was just because the Cubs were playing the slightly more pitiful San Diego Padres— but either way, the Cubs actually have a two-game win streak since little Wrigley came to town.

In their quest to end the "Curse," the five hikers started their 1,746 mile trip to Wrigley Field in Mesa, Ariz. on Feb. 25 and raised over $20,000 on the way.

The Cubs said they will donate $1,746 to their cause— $1.00 for every mile the group walked, but stopped short of saying if they would infuse any more cash into the team's payroll.

The curse got its start during the 1945 World Series after a local tavern owner was told by the Cubs he couldn't bring his goat into the game.  In retaliation, he put the famous whammy on the Cubs when he said the team would never win a World Series game again.  Sixty seven years later, the Cubs are still waiting to make it back into the Fall Classic.

The five young hikers— Matt Gregory, Kyle Townsend, Patrick Fisher, Blake Ferrell, and Phillip Aldrich— aren't even from Illinois but are Cubs fans nonetheless. They still hope the Cubs will lift the team policy on banning goats at Wrigley Field— at least one time.

"It's all about respecting the goat," said Aldrich.  "The hike is about 2,000 miles, but you know, raising money for cancer research and letting the goat see all the different parts of the country like Route 66, the goat's helped us raise over $20,000. To me, that's respecting the goat and I think that was part of the curse, not respecting the goat."

A lot of fans have brought goats to Wrigley for their fifteen minutes of fame, then the next thing you know the cute little creature is hanging in the butcher shop window.  Wrigley deserves a chance to literally munch on the ivy-covered walls because he has the blisters on his little hooves to earn that right.