Horn of plenty! Vendors are cashing in on goat

CHICAGO — The Cubs might not want to talk about the “Curse of the Billy Goat” anymore, but for T-shirt vendors on the streets around Wrigley Field, the decadesold jinx has become a cottage industry.

A variety of shirts with slogans such as “Goat-busters,” “Guck the Foat” and “I ain’t afraid of no goat” are available every 50 yards or so, giving fans an alternative to the officially licensed (and higher-priced) merchandise being offered by the Cubs and Major League Baseball.

“There are certain things we can’t use, like the Cubs logo, which we understand,” said Jorge Martinez, who has sold shirts outside the ballpark for seven years. “We come up with other things and sell what we can.”

The Cubs’ postseason run has been a boon for every business around Wrigley Field, bringing fans to Wrigleyville on game days whether they have tickets to the game or not. “This is as packed as I’ve ever seen,” Martinez said. “It’s only close to this for the season opener or when the White Sox are here.”

“The ticket brokers are making the most money,” said Alfonse, a vendor who declined to give his last name. “They’re probably millionaires by now.”

All of the vendors around the ballpark have a gentleman’s agreement: shirts are priced no lower than $20, an effort not to undercut the others and allow everybody to get their slice of the pie.

“We’re all trying to eat,” Martinez said. “Everybody will be happy to buy anything related to the Cubs if they win.”

Greg Brown, who travels two hours on game days to set up shop on Waveland Avenue, was hawking “Goatbusters” shirts featuring a cartoon goat/ghost character in a takeoff on the Ghostbusters movie logo.

“It’s Casper the Friendly Goat,” Brown said. “The Cubs in the World Series, that’s good for America — not just business. If the Cubs are the ‘Goatbusters,’ everyone will want these shirts.”

But will they? If the Cubs come back to end their 108-year championship drought, will fans want to think back to the curse that haunted the franchise and contributed to more than a century of futility?

World Series champion merchandise would likely be the hottest sellers, leaving

the vendors around Wrigley with a large amount of merchandise that will no longer be relevant. “If they win, they probably won’t sell anymore,” Alfonse said. “Hopefully we’ll be sold out of them by then. Right now, the goat still sells.”

You know those photos of children in third-world countries wearing “Buffalo Bills Super Bowl Champion” shirts? If the Cubs win, they may have some goat shirts to add to their wardrobes. “I guess we’ll have to donate them to charity,” Martinez said. “The curse will be over and we’ll be winners. On to the next one.”