The Curse of the Wiggles: How Australia’s Most Beloved Band has Doomed Every Team They’ve Sung About
DYOR Dave
It’s hard to find a less polarising piece of Australian culture than the Wiggles. They’ve been a trusted friend of young parents for decades, and a nostalgic memory for all those lucky enough to grow up watching them.
Their recent hottest 100 victory has brought them to unimaginable heights of success, with over 18s tours and albums filled with banging covers now commonplace in Wiggles folklore, but there may be a dark side to this shining light that some have overlooked.
Most dribblers will be familiar with their 2017 hit “Ba Da Da Da Da,” which was created in support of the NSW Blues for State of Origin.
While it may have flown under the radar at the time of its release, it has become an unofficial anthem in the PnD community, who proudly sang it during this year’s series victory.
However, at the time of its release, it didn’t do much to help the team, who suffered a 2-1 defeat thanks to a Valentine Holmes hat trick in game three.
By itself, the result may not seem like it had much to do with the Wiggles attempt to buoy the boys, but a look at the history of the band’s association with sporting teams showed that their support could have been a dark omen.
In 2018, the Wiggles recorded the song “It’s Our Jungle” for the Wests Tigers, who appropriately matched their childlike style of footy with children’s music as their theme song.
Written by Blue Wiggle, OG member, and Tigers fan Anthony Field, the music video strangely featured zero coloured skivvies, as the band understandably may not want to be associated with a club like the Tigers.
The Tigers are no stranger to a curse, and it would seem that 2018 was no different, finishing in their much loved 9th place, 3 wins away from the top 8.
Since then, the Tigers haven’t bothered to create a new team song, and their results have mirrored that lack of effort, finishing outside the 8 every year since.
The curse doesn’t just confine itself to the borders of this nation, after all, the Wiggles are a worldwide phenomenon.
In 2013, they released a song called “Shock The World” in support of the USA Tomahawks’ Rugby League World Cup campaign.
With a video starring former Penrith and Parramatta player Joseph Paulo, the song featured the lyric “President Obama, you’re gonna hold the World Cup up high,” which seemed strangely ambitious even for Americans.
The Tomahawks didn’t fully disappoint, winning two matches in the group stages against Wales and the Cook Islands, which led them to face Australia in the quarter-finals.
Thanks to four tries each from Brett Morris and from former Silverwater star Jarryd Hayne, Australia ran riot over the US, winning 62-0 in what was barely a speed bump on their way to winning the title.
The Wiggles haven’t released a sporting song in nearly four years, as it would seem they have recognised their unfortunate influence on the teams they try to help.
Alternatively, there may be no curse surrounding the wiggles, and the poor results may in fact stem from their decision to support teams that were destined to get smashed anyway.
But at the end of the day, the Wiggles were just standing up for the little guy, for the team that didn’t stand a chance but tried their hardest anyway, and in this humble writer’s opinion, it’s that integrity and continued joyfulness that makes the Wiggles so loveable, despite their questionable sporting choices.
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