When the Yankees first announced that they were going to build a new stadium, my wife, Cathy had an epiphany. The thought came to her as she wondered what would be the future of the old Yankee stadium. We talked about her thought with friends and as the plans for old Yankee stadium developed, it seemed to become more and more plausible. The initial plans for the stadium was to remove the upper deck keeping the rest of the stadium intact as a museum/playing field. Later it was announced that the entire stadium would be demolished. After a recent visit to the new Yankee stadium, catching a view of the upper deck with the seats removed, her thoughts echoed in my head.

For decades, there was the Curse of the Bambino, the purported curse that kept the Red Sox from winning the World Series. Then in 2004, after 86 years, the Red Sox finally broke through and captures the World Series. They did so again in 2006 and have now won more championships in this millennium than any other team – more than even the storied Yankees. The curse had been broken.

But what does that have to do with Cathy’s epiphany? Well, think of it as reversing the Curse. In its new incarnation, the big Bambino (who almost single-handedly saved baseball from the Black Sox scandal) isn’t so happy that the Yankees have decided to raze the House that he built. When the Yankees announced plans for a New Yankee stadium in June 2005, the Curse was revided and reversed and will result in the Yankees not winning a championship in this millennium.

Don’t buy it? Well who’d have believed that a Yankee team with a $209 million payroll ($71 million more than the next biggest spender) that was in the playoffs for more than a decade would lose the division to a Tampa Bay team with a $43 million payroll (ranked #29) and not even make the playoffs. For me, I’m sold.