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The Together Forever Curse
The Together Forever* Curse is a curse that has kept /a/ and /sp/ together forever since the first cup. The curse spanned through 12 official 4chan Cup events, including 4 Babby Cups, until it was finally broken in Spring 2016 with /sp/ advancing to Summer, and /a/ failing to advance. However, when /wg/ and /gif/ (itself a replacement for managerless /g/) failed to provide exports for Summer, /a/ retroactively qualified, thus keeping the curse alive. Both /a/ and /sp/ were subsequently relegated to the group stages, meaning that the curse looks destined to remain for until at least the Autumn 2016 Babbies.
Background
The Together Forever curse sprang from /a/ and /sp/'s former status as the "last elites". As fellow members of the Original Sixteen and two of the largest fanbases, /a/ and /sp/ eagerly hoped for their own team's promotion and their rival team's relegation from the Elite Cups. Fittingly, both /a/ and /sp/ were subsequently ejected from the elite cups in Summer 2014. Together Forever subsequently replaced "the last True Elites (held only by /mu/ until Winter 2015)" to denote /a/ and /sp/'s consistent inability to play in a tournament without the other in spite of sometimes (ridiculously) disparate performances and an actual relegation.
Rivalry
Arguably, the /a/ vs /sp/ rivalry is the most heated throughout the 4chan Cup. As the 4chan Cup's first Champion and (controversially) the Cup's only two-time back-to-back elite champions, /a/ and /sp/ have a history of enmity. Together Forever is often used in lieu of this rivalry; the team that has been relegated will invoke Together Forever in the hopes that the other will be relegated with them, whereas the team that promotes hopes the other is ejected.
Meme
The first and most commonly used expression of the curse comes through Rick Astley's 1987 song Together Forever, though in the wake of the Summer 2016 Group stages a song of the same name from the Pokemon TV Soundtrack was used in reference to /sp/'s last minute relegation by a stunning victory by /vp/ over /out/. The Meme is also expressed through images and macros depicting Cowboy Bebop and Messi, /a/ and /sp/'s respective captains, taking part in various activities together.
