Charlie Brown.
That’s who I feel like right now. More specifically, Charlie Brown when he goes to kick the football year after year, only to have Lucy cruelly — sadistically — pull the ball away, causing poor ole Chuck to fall on his arse.
That’s how I feel as a Cubs fan. Year after year, I get excited, thinking this is the year — just maybe – that I can actually kick the football. That this is the year the Cubs will go to (forget about winning it — I just want them in it) the World Series.
As if to prod my sickness, some years the Cubs will even hold the football out a little bit longer, so that my eyes get all wide and I think that, yes, for sure, no doubt, this is really, truly it. And then:
Aaugh!
The thing is, I wasn’t going to get suckered this year. One week into the season, I proclaimed: “I’m giving up on the Cubs.” Even that early, I told friends, I could tell the Cubs were going to let me down again. I think I even mentioned something about rooting for the Yankees. Or some other non-losers.
But, of course, I didn’t mean it. And by the All-Star break, I was roped in, thinking this year was special. Because this year — unlike all those others – the Cubs scored runs. This year the Cubs waged impressive comebacks. And this year they even threw a no-hitter.
What other proof do you need to show that the Cubs were going to make the World Series for the first time since 1945? To win it for the first time since 19-freakin-08?
I’ll bet I wasn’t the only Cubs fan who knew the dream was over in the 5th inning of Game One against the Dodgers. After James Loney, a guy who hit just 13 homeruns in the regular season, drilled ace Ryan Dempster for a grand slam, you just knew that they would lose the first game, which would cause them to lose the home field advantage and cause the fans to lose faith, and the players would then –
Well . . . you just knew. Just like you knew when Bartman reached out for that foul ball a few years ago.
You just knew. And so did every other fan at Wrigley. And so did every player in the Cubs dugout.
After that granny by Loney, it was as if I’d been hit in the head by a foul ball and came to my senses. Because just then a voice said to me: “These are the Cubs, you idiot! What were you thinking?”
If I had half a brain, I’d start rooting for the Red Sox or the Dodgers right now. Because those teams know how to win. Or, at the very least, they have won. Within the past century, which is more than the Cubs can say.
But you just watch. Come next spring, when the Cubs pack their gear for Arizona, I’ll be eyeing that football again. Because, you know, hope springs eternal — especially at spring training.
On second thought, don’t call me Chuck. Call me Chump.
Posted on October 6th, 2008 by Pat
Filed under: The World According to Pat
I was counting on the Cubbies to stop the Dodgers.
Now I’m a Phillies fan.
The problem with the Cubs is they can’t play in the dark, under the lights.
MLB is the only major sport that force fits virtually all of their playoff games into night slots. NFL and NBA don’t, why baseball?
Kids today won’t have the joy of an afternoon game on the T.V. or radio.
Greed has squeezed the radio network broadcasts out and onto pay to listen internet or satellite radio.
The young fans without credit cards and that can’t stay up late will be weaned on football, basketball and soccer.
Cubs never should have put lights in Wrigley.
Despite what Mr. Pemberton writes, the Cubs have some of the most hard-core fans on the planet. I watched a Cubs-Pirate game in 2007 where the sold-out Wrigley was doing the Tomahawk chop when the score flashed that the Braves were leading their rival Brewers. It was a glimmer of hope. It was enough to warm the heart of any baseball fan.
Yes, the Cubs had the look of fear in their eyes. I think back of the look of Alfonso Soriano as he sat in the dugout during Saturday’s game. It was resignation. Their season was slipping away. Sad.
But hope indeed springs eternal. Come next April the stands at Wrigley will be filled with hope and optimism. 2009 could be the year …
I was sad earlier in the season, as I was no longer living in the Chicago area, and couldn’t really enjoy the Cubs’ spectacular season. I don’t feel so bad now.
Dude, I know. It IS like that Lucy with football thing. Nice analogy.