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Will 100-year Series drought end for diehard Cub fans?
By Steve Dunn
For diehard Cub fans, hope springs eternal.
How else can you explain Chicago's north side major league baseball team drawing more than 3 million fans a year to a 92-year-old baseball park even though they haven't won a World Series since ... 1908!
Yes, it's been 100 years since the Cubs hoisted the world championship flag, and you can bet the Chicago media will remind this year's team about the decades-long drought. To put the dry spell in perspective, consider this: The U.S. has fought in two world wars, had 18 presidents, put a man on the moon and seen such major medical advances as the polio vaccine and heart transplants since the Cubs' last World Series title.
More than one theory has been advanced on why the Cubs have come up short so often. Before they installed lights at Wrigley Field in 1998, some speculated the players couldn't stand up to a home schedule of all day games. When the Cubs inexplicably lost to the Florida Marlins in the 2003 National League Championship Series, a fan, Steve Bartman, received much of the blame after he reached for a foul ball in the left field stands. A few months later, the ball was ceremoniously blown up at Harry Caray's restaurant and bar in Chicago.
If you're looking for a reason why the Cubs haven't reached a World Series since 1945, try a curse allegedly placed on the Cubs by Billy Sianis, who owned the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago when the Cubs and Detroit Tigers tangled in the '45 Series.
Although Sianis and his pet goat, Murphy, were allowed to stay in a couple of box seats for which they had tickets, Cubs' owner Philip Wrigley eventually kicked them out of Wrigley Field due to the goat's odor. As the story goes, Sianis put a curse on the Cubs that they would never win another pennant or play in a World Series at Wrigley Field again.
I have my own explanation: Despite their plentiful supply of individual stars and Hall of Famers over the years, the Cubs have come up short on talent more often than not and have had to play with a heavy weight on their shoulder. In 1969, they led the National League throughout most of the regular season, only to be overcome by the “Amazin' Mets.” In 1984, they had a 2-0 lead on the San Diego Padres, but lost the final three playoff games in San Diego. In 2003, they were within five outs of reaching the World Series, but their dreams were dashed by the upstart Marlins.
Still, diehard Cub fans stick with their Bruins, knowing full well that for every spectacular play, mini-winning streak and game-winning homer, adversity may be just around the corner.
Even though the Cubs have let me down more times than I care to count, I've never seriously considered rooting for another team. My favorite memories of watching and listening to the Cubs over the years include getting an autograph from an aged Rogers Hornsby, the last National League player to hit over .400 in a season; seeing Billy Williams hit a home run off the Cardinals' Bob Gibson to win a season opener at Wrigley; watching Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, belt homers into the left field bleachers or onto Waveland Avenue; seeing Ryne Sandberg and Greg Maddux in their formative years; cheering as third baseman Ron Santo jumped up and clicked his heels after victories in 1969; and letting out a sigh of relief as left fielder Walt “Moose” Moryn made a shoe string catch to preserve Don Cardwell's no-hitter, to name just a few.
Monday's season opener provided a snapshot of what diehard Cub fans have endured for years. In the morning, a statue of Banks was unveiled outside the ballpark on the corner of Clark and Addison streets. A two-time Most Valuable Player in the National League, Banks still is the club's all-time leader in games played (2,528), at bats (9,421), total bases (4,706) and extra base hits (1,009). He remains second in hits (2,583), home runs (512) and runs-batted-in (1,636). During his 19-year career with the Cubs, he was an ambassador for the game with his cheerful attitude and “let's play two” philosophy.
But the opener itself was like too many other Cub defeats. Despite a three-run homer in the ninth inning by new right fielder Kosuke Fukudome, the Cubs eventually lost by one run to their rivals from the north, the Milwaukee Brewers.
So while a lot of Cub fans exclaim “this is our year,” I'll take a more cautious approach to the new season unfolding before us. I only hope I see the Cubs reach and win the World Series in my lifetime! And the sooner the better. One hundred years is long enough.
How else can you explain Chicago's north side major league baseball team drawing more than 3 million fans a year to a 92-year-old baseball park even though they haven't won a World Series since ... 1908!
Yes, it's been 100 years since the Cubs hoisted the world championship flag, and you can bet the Chicago media will remind this year's team about the decades-long drought. To put the dry spell in perspective, consider this: The U.S. has fought in two world wars, had 18 presidents, put a man on the moon and seen such major medical advances as the polio vaccine and heart transplants since the Cubs' last World Series title.
More than one theory has been advanced on why the Cubs have come up short so often. Before they installed lights at Wrigley Field in 1998, some speculated the players couldn't stand up to a home schedule of all day games. When the Cubs inexplicably lost to the Florida Marlins in the 2003 National League Championship Series, a fan, Steve Bartman, received much of the blame after he reached for a foul ball in the left field stands. A few months later, the ball was ceremoniously blown up at Harry Caray's restaurant and bar in Chicago.
If you're looking for a reason why the Cubs haven't reached a World Series since 1945, try a curse allegedly placed on the Cubs by Billy Sianis, who owned the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago when the Cubs and Detroit Tigers tangled in the '45 Series.
Although Sianis and his pet goat, Murphy, were allowed to stay in a couple of box seats for which they had tickets, Cubs' owner Philip Wrigley eventually kicked them out of Wrigley Field due to the goat's odor. As the story goes, Sianis put a curse on the Cubs that they would never win another pennant or play in a World Series at Wrigley Field again.
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Still, diehard Cub fans stick with their Bruins, knowing full well that for every spectacular play, mini-winning streak and game-winning homer, adversity may be just around the corner.
Even though the Cubs have let me down more times than I care to count, I've never seriously considered rooting for another team. My favorite memories of watching and listening to the Cubs over the years include getting an autograph from an aged Rogers Hornsby, the last National League player to hit over .400 in a season; seeing Billy Williams hit a home run off the Cardinals' Bob Gibson to win a season opener at Wrigley; watching Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, belt homers into the left field bleachers or onto Waveland Avenue; seeing Ryne Sandberg and Greg Maddux in their formative years; cheering as third baseman Ron Santo jumped up and clicked his heels after victories in 1969; and letting out a sigh of relief as left fielder Walt “Moose” Moryn made a shoe string catch to preserve Don Cardwell's no-hitter, to name just a few.
Monday's season opener provided a snapshot of what diehard Cub fans have endured for years. In the morning, a statue of Banks was unveiled outside the ballpark on the corner of Clark and Addison streets. A two-time Most Valuable Player in the National League, Banks still is the club's all-time leader in games played (2,528), at bats (9,421), total bases (4,706) and extra base hits (1,009). He remains second in hits (2,583), home runs (512) and runs-batted-in (1,636). During his 19-year career with the Cubs, he was an ambassador for the game with his cheerful attitude and “let's play two” philosophy.
But the opener itself was like too many other Cub defeats. Despite a three-run homer in the ninth inning by new right fielder Kosuke Fukudome, the Cubs eventually lost by one run to their rivals from the north, the Milwaukee Brewers.
So while a lot of Cub fans exclaim “this is our year,” I'll take a more cautious approach to the new season unfolding before us. I only hope I see the Cubs reach and win the World Series in my lifetime! And the sooner the better. One hundred years is long enough.
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| Detroit: The city that liberalism ruined |
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of dailygate.com.
519 wrote on Apr 8, 2008 4:08 PM:
" yea...Cardinal fan since I was born in the great city of St. Louis...but to tell the truth, if the Cards don't make it to the playoffs and the Cubs or Giants or Mets do, I always root for the NL team no matter what....Nothing worse than a World Series without the Cards and with the N.Y. Yankees !!...My grandparents were huge Cards fans as was my dad and my mom, and now my kids, too, even though they live far away...Once a Cardinal fan, always a Cardinal fan !!! "
Lifelong Cardinal fan wrote on Apr 8, 2008 2:08 PM:
" Hey Cub Fan/KHS Senior, making fun of other fans and other teams isn't a huge disappointment to the game - it's part of the game, and has been part of the game for the last 150+ years. This is why baseball fans need to have a thick skin to stand up to the hecklers from other teams.
By the way, I was born in St. Louis and have been a Cardinal fan all my life, just like my father before me.
I won't use the word "disgusting", but if I did I would point to a lack of punctuation, multiple spelling errors, atrocious grammar and blatant assumptions about other posters that have no basis in fact. Try jumping on the English class BANDWAGON for your last year in high school. "
By the way, I was born in St. Louis and have been a Cardinal fan all my life, just like my father before me.
I won't use the word "disgusting", but if I did I would point to a lack of punctuation, multiple spelling errors, atrocious grammar and blatant assumptions about other posters that have no basis in fact. Try jumping on the English class BANDWAGON for your last year in high school. "
cub fan, KHS senior wrote on Apr 8, 2008 10:15 AM:
" wow...What a shocker, I knew when i seen there was comments on here it would be card fans making fun of cub fan and the cub team.. You guys are a huge disapointment to the game, it is ment for people to play and viewers to enjoy the game of baseball..you guys disgust me, not going to lie, you truely do.. at least i have been a cub fan my whole life and always will be, no matter how 'bad' they are, while you guys have been card fans probly since they won the world series a couple years ago..I bet you guys liked other teams before the cards..BAN WAGONS!! "
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Tim Isenmann wrote on Apr 9, 2008 6:28 PM:
1. Radio was invented; Cubs fans got to hear their team lose.
2. TV was invented; Cubs fans got to see their team lose.
3. Baseball added 14 teams; Cubs fans get to see and hear their team lose to more clubs.
4. George Burns celebrated his 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th and 100th birthdays.
5. Haley's comet passed Earth twice.
6. Harry Caray was born....and died. Incredible, but true.
7. The NBA, NHL and NFL were formed, and Chicago teams won championships in each league.
8. Man landed on the moon, as have several home runs given up by Cubs pitchers.
9. Sixteen U.S. presidents were elected.
10. There were 11 amendments added to the Constitution.
11. Prohibition was created and repealed.
12. The Titanic was built, set sail, sank, was discovered and became the subject of major motion pictures, the latest giving Cubs fans hope that something that finishes on the bottom can come out on top.
13. Wrigley Field was built and becomes the oldest park in the National League.
14. Flag poles were erected on Wrigley Field roof to hold all of the team's future World Series pennants. Those flag poles have since rusted and been taken down.
15. A combination of 40 Summer and Winter Olympics have been held.
16. Thirteen baseball players have won the Triple Crown; several thanked Cubs pitchers.
17. Bell-bottoms came in style, went out of style and came back in.
18. The Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox and the Florida Marlins have all won the World Series.
19. The Cubs played 14,153 regular-season games; they lost the majority of them.
20. Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Oklahoma and New Mexico were added to the Union.
( http://www.ahajokes.com/chicago_jokes.html ) "