Someone in the Wallabies' camp walked under a ladder. How else could you explain their lot? This is 2016, the year in which parched teams have had their uniforms drenched in the champagne of glory. So many long-suffering clubs have ended their run of misses, that pretty soon we'll be declaring a drought of droughts.
The latest miracle is the Chicago Cubs. If you claim to remember the last time they won the World Series, you're a liar. If you say you remember the last time they made it to the Fall Classic, you're at least in your mid-70s, and you probably remember V-E Day as well.
On Sunday, the Cubs sent fans at their quaint Wrigley Field home into delirium when they beat LA Dodgers 5-0 in game six of the National League Championship series, clinching their first pennant in 71 years. Long-suffering supporters have delighted in the Cubs winning more regular season games than any other team in Major League Baseball this year.
The streak of dominance now sees them favoured to beat the Cleveland Indians in the World Series - starting Wednesday morning Australia time - and win what would be their first championship since 1908. For context, that was the year Richmond entered the VFL and William Taft was elected US president, four years before the Titanic sunk, and six years before the start of World War I.
Speaking of those Cubs, you might have spotted their colours at the MCG earlier this month: red, white and blue. But that's not all they have in common with the Western Bulldogs. On four occasions since their last trip to the big dance, the Cubs reached the NLCS - the preliminary final of baseball, for those who need things put in AFL terms.
The Dogs remember, had lost seven straight prelims. Where the Bullies had Tony Liberatore jumping into the arms of teammates to prematurely celebrate what he believed to be a match-winning goal against Adelaide in 1997, the Cubs had the outstretched arm of bespectacled fan Steve Bartman, preventing a possible catch for outfielder Moises Alou at a critical juncture of the 2003 NLCS game six against Florida.
Both incidents are etched into sporting folklore, moments that showed that fate would invariably conspire against sport's loveable losers.
Until this year. This year is different. The Bulldogs overcame umpteen hardships, making it to the preliminary final where they found themselves 14 points behind in the final quarter against Greater Western Sydney, yet still won, tossing the gorilla from their collective back.
The Cubs faced a similar challenge after trailing 2-1 in the NLCS before winning consecutive games on the road, then clinching the series against arguably the finest pitcher of the decade - the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw. It ended in glory for the Bulldogs, and having jumped over the hurdle that had so often tripped them up, the Cubs are now on the verge of matching the feat of Luke Beveridge's team.
Their rivals the Indians haven't won the World Series since 1948. Up against just about any other team, they would be sentimental favourites. They are a Cinderella story, but if they win they'll be shooting Bambi. What's more, Cleveland fans have had their fun this year. It had been more than half a century since one of the city's professional sports teams won a title, until LeBron James and his Cavaliers stunned Golden State in this year's NBA finals, coming from 3-1 down to win the best of seven series.
In a year of tall sporting tales, the Cavs' efforts may only scrape into top five implausible stories. Cronulla anyone? The NRL team that won its first title after 49 years in the competition, and less than four years after being plunged into a drugs crisis. And Leicester City's Premier League title still seems unfathomable, especially given a genesis that lay partly in the sacking of manager Nigel Pearson after his son racially abused a Thai prostitute. No, really.
So spare a thought for the Wallabies. On Saturday night they lost to the All Blacks in Auckland, the continuation of a 30-year Eden Park drought. They haven't won the Bledisloe Cup since 2002. They'll do it again one day. But if it didn't happen this year, it's hard to pick when it will.
