Some would say — and they have online, often and in nasty ways — that Noel Brown is tempting fate by getting a Cubs “World Series Champions” tattoo before the deed is done.
Brown got the tattoo Wednesday 330 miles west of Chicago, in Des Moines, Iowa.
He won a contest held by a radio station, beating about 40 other participants, to win the tattoo on his left calf.
It features a Cubs logo with a goat in the middle and the words “Holy Cow!! Curse Broken World Series Champions.”
Brown, 45, a health insurance underwriter who also coaches high school baseball, says he’s “not really superstitious.”
“When it comes to winning or losing, there’s too much other stuff involved,” he said Thursday. “I don’t put a lot stock into that.
Although, he admits, he had a moment of doubt when he got home Wednesday night, turned on the TV and found the Cubs trailing, even with Jake Arrieta on the mound.
“The first thing that goes through my mind is, ‘Oh, crud, I hope I didn’t jinx anything,” Brown said. “But if one person gets a tattoo, that can’t throw the whole thing out of whack.
Noel Brown, left, with tattoo artist Rick Gray. | KXNO Radio
“But since they’re gonna win it this year, it’s not really a worry,” he said.
Brown, who’s married and has two kids, had a hand in designing the tattoo.
Brown has been taking some heat since he got the tattoo. He said he stopped looking at comments online because of the negativity.
Still, he said, “If this is the biggest regret I have at the end of the day is having this tattoo, then I’ve lived a pretty good life.
“Worst-case scenario, we’ve got a good story and something to laugh about around the house,” he said.
