A Bitter Pill

Four days ago, I actually thought, "You know, if the Cubs win the World Series this year, it would be great to have something written about that I can look back on." It seems completely ridiculous now. I'm not even sure what should be said here that hasn't been already. They made the Dodgers look like world beaters...and don't get me wrong, the Dodgers played well. Their starting pitching was very good. When they had guys in scoring position, they came through. It's just a fucking shame that the Cubs fell flat because it could have been a great series. Instead, it was a laugher. Swept again...with this team? NINE straight losses in the playoffs? I've shaken my head so much side to side the last 72 hours that I'm resembling my fan at night. Maybe when it comes to the Cubs and failure, I shouldn't be surprised anymore. But I am. I really am. They duped me good this time.

After 2003, I cared a tad bit less every passing year with each Cubs team...until this year. They roped me back in, they won with hitting and they won with pitching. They won with dramatic comebacks and they won in lopsided routs. They played every day like a team that knew full well they were the lucky ones, getting paid millions to do something they love. Winning cures plenty of ills, but it doesn't turn enemies into friends. Not every successful team likes each other. The teams that are the best to watch win the right way and have a blast doing it. That was our team this year. That's why I feel for them, more than anything. Here's hoping the voices they hear about what went wrong will cease sooner rather than later. We make athletes into heroes when they succeed and turn them into villains when they fail. These guys are neither, but I still like them a heck of a lot. Next year is a long way off. But it's still out there.

"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."

Andy Dufresne said it, and I'm echoing. Maybe it won't be until I'm about to turn 60 when it finally happens and it's my son who cares more than I, just as the case with my dad today. But it's going to happen. The Cubs are going to win the World Series. Maybe it's not the healthiest habit to care as much we we do about something like this. But when you've wanted something your whole life, you have to see it all the way through. That's just the way it is. I'll wait as long as I have to. And then I'll bask in the moment for as long as I can.

Hey Chicago, whaddya say???