Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Who's Your Team?

Some of you Fire Enthusiasts may have noticed that it is baseball season once again. In spite of everything that I know, I find myself continuing to place both my heart and soul behind a team that seems destined to break both. We have essentially the same starting line-up as last year where we didn’t hit at all, losing more games than we won. In fact, the team was never over .500 which gives you a great indicator as to how the season ended up. There are so many more things I could list, but for now let me simply give you the bottom line: my beloved Chicago Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908.



Yes, you read that correctly. It’s been 102 years. Not only this, but they haven’t even been to a World Series since 1945. You remember the year World War II ended, right? It was in all of the papers…



Some of you might be wondering how in the world it could be that a California kid could end up following the Cubs. Although I grew up following the New York Yankees, along with my Dad, something happened in my teens that caused me to place my allegiance with another team. It was called Cable Television. When cable came to my little town it gave me an opportunity to catch baseball games more often. There were two stations that showed nearly every game: TBS and their Atlanta Braves or WGN and their Cubs.



During the 1990’s, the Braves were perennial winners, winning division after division and going to the series many times and ultimately winning one of them, if memory serves. However, during the late 1980’s, they were a very sad team and their stadium attendance reflected this fact: the place was deserted. On the other hand, though the Cubs were not exactly winning anything, Wrigley Field was always packed. Couple this with the fact that they played most of their games during the day, one could see how I could find myself hooked.

If you wonder why it is that this team could be so pathetic over the years, rarely even winning their division, I can only tell you that it is a very long and sad story. They have had some opportunities, but something always seems to impede them. In 1984, before I was a fan, they won the first two games of their play-off by wide margins, only to lose three straight in San Diego. In ’98, they won a one game play-off with San Francisco to get into the play-offs, but lost to the Braves.

In 2003, the team had a great year. They went to the play-offs, once again playing the Braves, but this time beating them handily in their own house. The party stretched from Atlanta all the way back to Chicago, and in fact all across the country as Cubs fans rejoiced. Little did we know the horror that awaited us all. That year the team blew a 3 games to 1 lead in the best of seven series. Five outs away from the World Series, a fan, Steve Bartman, reached out for a foul ball that probably couldn’t have been caught by the left fielder anyway, causing the team to lose their composure and their focus, and ultimately giving up 8 runs that inning. Then they lost game seven.

If I seem a little grumpy as 2011 progresses, you can safely assume that it has more to do with the Cubs than it does dismal book sales!!

Before I go, what baseball team will your household be rooting for? Perhaps I’ll be rooting for your team this year.

Lord knows, I end up having to choose some other team to root for during the play-offs.

We’ll talk soon.

16 comments:

  1. Statistically, that almost seems impossible! Crazy at the least. I don't have anytime for sports in my life at the moment, but if I did, I'd vote for the cubs. I guess I'm more of an underdog-kind-of-gal.
    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Erin. If we finally have a good year I'll know it was because you were our good luck charm! You're right. It would seem impossible for the team to go that long w/o winning more often... Unless God had it out for us! I plan to
    ask Him about this one day. Lol! Remember in "Titanic" when Cal says, "God, Himself couldn't sink this ship"? I'm sure that when the Cubs went back to back in 1907 & 1908, that some idiot said, "God, Himself, couldn't beat the Cubs!" It just has to be, right?
    Thanks for stopping by,
    -Jimmy

    ReplyDelete
  3. It bums me out big time when fans screw up plays like that! I'm sorry about your Cubs :( But every team goes through slumps. Some are small, some are big, but eventually teams ALWAYS come through. Your Cubs will go to the World Series again!

    I grew up loving all Philadelphia sports, so of course I'm a Phillies fan. I'm sad this season because Jayson Werth is no longer with us. But I'll still wear my Werth shirt with pride!!! He did a lot of good things for our team. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. The loyalty of Cubs' fans is surreal.

    Even I root for them and I haven't lived in Chicago in 35 years.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Because of TBS and WGN, I HATED both the Braves and the Cubs. It wasn't fair they were on TV all the time, but not my Dodgers. Yes, I grew up a Dodgers fan (being from Southern California) and I still root for them.

    But in 1976, I became a fan of the Cincinnati Reds (and Johnny Bench), long before I ended up living an hour away (I was stationed at Ft. Lewis, WA at the time). So, now it's the Reds all the time.

    Now, I'm also a fan of the Dayton Dragons. They are the Single A team of the Cincinnati Reds. It's fun watching them start out and then seeing them show up on the Reds (like Joey Votto - my favorite!). Minor league baseball is fun. You should try it out!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi, Laura. I remember seemingly all last year that it was their terrible not-so-secret wish to trade Werth; however, he was always so clutch. It was unbelieveable how many times he would get the hit. At least he didn't stand there and take the last strike like Howard!! Oh, Well.
    Thanks for the pep-talk, my friend.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you, Maria. I don't suppose with all of the ghosts that you can see that you can tell when we'll finally win, huh? No, I didn't think so... Snap!
    ;)
    Take care and have a great week,

    -Jimmy

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi, Stacy. We live 20 minutes from Fresno where the Giants' AAA Grizzlies play. It's a great little park that looks fancy and bigger than it is. We've gone to see the Iowa Cubs a few times. When my youngest was younger he used to run the bases.
    Those Reds are tough! Good pitching and monster hitting.
    We get down to Dodger Stadium every couple of years. I could see myself liking the blue crew were I to live there. Great stadium. My Vice President at work gave us tickets behind home plate the last time the Cubs were in town. We parked close to the stadium and got to see the players when they left for the city. I stood by and laughed as Rian got braver and braver, nabbing four Cubs' autographs. It was wonderful fun! He didn't get them for me, either. I got a kick just watching him go...
    Take care,

    -Jimmy

    ReplyDelete
  9. Loved the post! You know I'm a Red Sox fan, but I have to admit that I have a huge soft spot for the Cubs...hard not to really.

    Maybe this is your year. ;)

    Just think about it, the statistics are on your side! And look at us, supposedly going to be hot this year and we haven't won a single game yet, just goes to show you, you really never know what may happen. ;P

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hello, Kristi. Thanks so much for the encouragement. As a Dad you'd think I'd want my kids to follow my teams, but I have never wished that on my boys. There's too much heartbreak on the north-side of Chicago.
    Good luck to you and those Red Sox. Down with the evil empire!! (Sorry Yankees fans).
    -Jimmy

    ReplyDelete
  11. What fun baseball information! I used to be a HUGE Dodgers fan, back when I was in middle school. Now, I can take it or leave it. And the way the Dodgers fans sometimes act, and the cost of food at the park (gah! I have three sons!) we rarely see a game live.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi, Julie. Baseball games are pretty much the only sporting events we pay to go to. Soon, however, even that may prove to be too expensive. Thankfully, I married a woman who likes her sports and starts chiding me that it's time to go to a ballgame after too long away. we usually end up at Dodger Stadium when the Cubs come to town, although San Diego's relatively new park is really nice.

    Thanks for the visit.

    -Jimmy

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm a Dodgers fan because when I was little Tommy Lasorda reminded me of my grandpa.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hey, M.P. Another Dodgers' fan, huh? The Big Blue Wrecking Crew!! If I lived in LA, I just bet it would be very easy for me to root for them. Great stadium! I've been there many times. Usually, they beat up my Cubbies. I think I've only seen Chicago beat the Dodgers 2 out of 5 times or so...
    Have a great weekend,

    -Jimmy

    ReplyDelete
  15. Baseball never really took off in Australia, which is a shame because it's one of the few sports I find interesting. We have Rugby League and the team I grew up following (South Sydney Rabbits) usually live up to their animal mascot when battling against creatures like tigers, sharks and dragons.
    Wagging Tales - Blog for Writers

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks so much for stopping by, Charmaine. Too funny! I hope those rabbits bite back every once in awhile! My poor Cubs rarely do, I'm afraid...
    Have a great week!
    -Jimmy

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by. I really appreciate you taking the time. I'll get back to you here or on one of the other social networks. It's not like we're not on all of them, right? ;) Also, if you're here to give me an award - bless you. However, your friendship and visits are more than enough. Thanks and blessings.