The speaker discusses the "curse of Colonel Sanders," a popular urban legend in Japan. The story goes that after a fan threw a life-sized statue of Colonel Sanders into a canal during a baseball game, the team's performance declined. The speaker explores the possibility that the curse is not supernatural but rather a result of the team's performance after the statue was thrown into the canal. The speaker suggests that the statue was actually thrown off the bridge before the team won the championship, not during the celebration. The speaker also mentions that the Japanese language sources place the event on October 16th, not November 2nd as most English language sources suggest. The speaker concludes by suggesting that the act of throwing the statue into the canal might have boosted the team's performance temporarily, and that the team's subsequent decline could be due to other factors, such as the team's performance in the league play. The speaker encourages fans to test this theory by throwing another Colonel Sanders statue into a canal and observing the team's performance.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. KFC is very popular in Japan, with over 1100 restaurants across the country.
2. Japan is the third largest market for KFC, behind China and the US.
3. KFC's popularity in Japan can be attributed to a successful marketing campaign in the 1970s.
4. The campaign, which promoted KFC as a Christmas food, was launched by Takeshi Okawara, the manager of the first KFC in Japan.
5. The campaign was successful, and KFC became a popular Christmas food in Japan.
6. In 1985, a statue of Colonel Sanders was thrown into a river in Japan by fans of the Hanshin Tigers baseball team.
7. The Hanshin Tigers went on to win the Japan Series that year, but have not won a championship since.
8. The incident has become a popular urban legend in Japan, with many believing that the Colonel's spirit cursed the team.
9. The Hanshin Tigers have not won a Japan Series championship in over 35 years.
10. The team has only advanced to the Japan Series three times since 1985.
11. The Hiroshima Toyo Carp have not won a Japan Series championship since 1984 and have a longer active title drought than the Hanshin Tigers.
12. The Hanshin Tigers share a league with the Yomiuri Giants, a powerhouse team that has been accused of using underhanded tactics to recruit players.
13. Colonel Harland Sanders was a real person who founded KFC and was known for his perseverance and determination.
14. Sanders was born in 1890 in Henryville, Indiana, and learned to cook at a young age.
15. He had a number of jobs before finding success with KFC, including working as a railroad worker, country lawyer, and steamboat ferry operator.
16. Sanders was known for his temper and was involved in several fistfights throughout his life.
17. The curse of the Colonel Sanders statue may be an urban legend, and the true story may have been lost in translation.
18. The statue was actually thrown into the river on October 16th, not November 2nd, as previously reported.
19. The Hanshin Tigers won the Japan Series immediately after the statue was thrown into the river, but have not won a championship since.
20. The incident may have actually boosted the team's performance for a short period of time, rather than cursing them.