|
|
|
|
10/14/03 Perspective from a Cubs' Fan This morning when the sun came up, I was a Cubs' fan. I was a Cubs' fan in April when "next year" came again. I was a Cubs' fan in July when it looked like the Cubs were fading again. And I am a Cubs' fan now, after I watched the top of the eighth inning of the sixth game of the National League Championship Series when what looked like a secure three-run lead evaporated after a fan tipped a ball that might have represented the second out, the batter walked, and later a crucial error by shortstop Alex Gonzalez allowed the bleeding to continue, putting the game virtually out of reach. I will be a Cubs' fan Thursday morning, whether the Cubs win or lose Game 7 tomorrow night. But I am also a father, a husband, a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend, an employee, an investor, and someone who cares passionately about morality and ethics. If the Cubs never again win the World Series, and my daughter grows to be a successful, happy, productive woman, I will be a happy man. If the Cubs never again win a postseason series, and my son grows to fulfill his dreams for himself and his family, I will be a happy man. If the Cubs never again reach the postseason, and I leave the world a slightly better place than it would have been if I had never been born, I will die a happy man. And I will die a Cubs' fan, provided the franchise still exists and still plays in the "friendly confines." Being a Cubs' fan is a matter of loyalty, a demonstration of the preeminence in the human spirit of something better than greed, something higher than pride, something truer than victory. Cubs' fans, who have endured the longest drought in modern sports history between world championships, are the only fans who demonstrate that they care more for the team than they do for winning, year in and year out. In a certain sense, a victory tomorrow night and a victory in the World Series to follow would erase a distinction between those people who love the Cubs unconditionally and those who love them only when they are lovable by virtue of being winners. I am certain there are already others on the bandwagon, people who feel the unmistakable human urge to root for the underdog, who enjoy the dramatic moment (and there is no doubt that it is one of the most dramatic moments in sports history, regardless of what happens), but who are not true blue fans (certainly the Cubs have had less trouble filling every seat in the playoffs than they did toward the end of last season when they had long since been eliminated from playoff contention). But the true Cubs fans know who they are. They hope every year, they watch every year from near and far, even if they can't see many games. And they feel sadness when the hope finally dies. And now one of two things can happen tomorrow night: The Marlins' comeback victory in Game 6 becomes enshrined in the lore of baseball as one of the most dramatic and critical moments in the history of the game, or the Cubs win, taking one step closer to the eradication of "the Curse", and consign the Game 6 collapse to being just one more step on the way to one of the most dramatic finishes in the history of sports. In the meantime, our soldiers will continue to risk their lives to stabilize Iraq and make it safe for democracy, our police, firefighters, and medical professionals will continue to work to make our lives safer and more secure, journalists and politicians and insignificant thinkers like myself will continue debating the issues that define justice, morality, ethics, and law. I hope the Cubs win, but if they don't, I'll still be a Cubs' fan. And beyond that, I'll still believe that abortion is murder, that a strong military and the demonstrated willingness to use it is the only viable tool of diplomacy, and that the Bill of Rights and the Constitution should be interpreted in the same light under which they were drafted. And above all I'll still love my family more than my own life, and hope that if I'm ever called upon to give it up to save them, that I will do so willingly and without hesitation. Go Cubs! Modified: 09/10/2004 |
|
|
All Original Content (C) 2003, 2004, 2005 SoothSeeker.Com
SoothSeeker Welcomes your Comments at letters@soothseeker.com Report problems to webmaster@soothseeker.com
Hits on this site:
|