The Babe, a billy goat, and an announcer are all responsible for a curse.

While the first two are fairly well known, the third is starting to grab hold at Mississippi State University where Josh Barnhill has detected a trend for the men’s basketball team since 32-year veteran Hank Flick was let go from his position April 1, 2009.

“When MSU made the 2009 NCAA Tournament Hank Flick was still the PA announcer,” said Barnhill.  “On April 1st, he was fired. Consider the seasons we’ve had since then…”

Maroon and White Nation: Can MSU Reverse the Curse of Hank Flick?

Barnhill then goes on to list, season-by-season, the results of MSU basketball since that time.  A less-than-impressive history of a team who had, in its 20 seasons prior to the firing, made nine trips to the NCAA tournament, won three SEC tournaments, made it to the Sweet 16 round twice and Final Four once.

Flick had such a following at the school, that he even appears in a Buzzfeed article, 30 Signs You Went to Mississippi State University as number 22 on the list.

We’ve always believed and promoted that a good P. A. announcer can have an effect on the game, just as much as a bad announcer.  While a lot of people say they don’t go to games to hear the P. A. announcer, a bad announcer can ruin a really good game.  A good announcer can enhance any kind of game, even a bad game.

Featured photo from www.DrHankSpeaks.com