I'll take a Cub over a Tiger any day

by Amanda Peterka

Amanda wears her heart on her sleeve (well, actually it's on her chest)

It’s been a long time, to say the least.  Longer than my lifetime.  In fact, longer than five of my lifetimes -- and then some. 

When a baseball team pushes a century in between World Series wins, you really have to admire the fans who stick with them year after losing year.  I happen to be one of those fans, and all of a sudden I find myself a foreigner amidst a bunch of excited people celebrating the next big thing in baseball.  And all I have to say to you is, “Big deal.” 

I really don’t care that the Tigers are in the World Series.  I have no sympathy for you when you say that Tigers haven’t won since 1984; my team hasn’t won since 1908.  My team hasn’t even been IN the World Series since 1945. 

I had to suffer a couple of years ago when we needed just FIVE more outs to make it and then was forced to watch us lose the succeeding three games until we were brutally kicked out.  I watched Steve Bartman steal the ball from Moises Alou and then everything fall apart.

I then had to suffer last year as the White Sox rocketed ahead from out of nowhere and somehow came out with the championship title. All of a sudden I had to face derision from all sides for sticking with my team and not turning into a fair-weather fan.  But there was no way I was going to switch sides just because the Sox happened to have a better record and were the talk of the town and won the World Series and put Chicago once again on the baseball map…and left us in the dust.

Baseball became almost painful to watch this past year, to tell the truth.  Our record?  A dismal 66-96.  Hey, but at least I’m not a Tampa Bay or Kansas City fan, the only two teams in both leagues to have a worse record than us.

t’s not that I blame Bartman.  I don’t blame the White Sox.  I don’t even blame the Billy Goat.  Though I do give us kudos for having the most creative curse in baseball.  I just want to see the Cubs win one World Series before I become too old and blind to see the tv or comprehend what baseball even is.  Is that too much to ask?

You may wonder, now that you’re in the World Series, why people like me remain fans to baseball’s most lovable losers.  The fact is, it means something to be a Cubs fan.  It means something to stick with a team through so many losing seasons.  It means something to not be able to take winning for granted.  I think I’ve figured out why so many fans continually fill Wrigley Field each and every Cubs game, and it’s simply that we expect to lose.  Therefore, we are always overjoyed with each and every win, and it keeps us from being too disappointed in our team.

That also means when we do eventually win a World Series, the city of Chicago is going to see a celebration like none it’s seen before, even bigger than last’s year’s for the White Sox.

I’ve always been a Cubs fan.  I still remember names from my childhood such as Ryne Sandberg and Mark Grace.  I still remember the great homerun race between our very own pre-cork Sammy Sosa and Mark MacGwire.  I remember jumping up and down in excitement with my mom when the Rockies beat the Giants in 1998 because that meant we were still in the wildcard race.  I remember being even more excited when we beat the Giants to make it to the playoffs, only to get savagely beaten by the Braves immediately afterward.  I know and love Ron, our bumbling radio announcer.  And I remember television with Steve Stone and Chip Carey, and while Harry Carey was pre-my time, I still respect him greatly.

You can have your Tigers.  Through thick and thin, the Cubs have been, and are, MY team. 

 Just wait until next year…