Go Cubs Go

There is just something about Wrigley Field that invokes warm memories. Maybe, it is because it is legendary in baseball as being one of the last of the old relics, a field in tribute to bygone days. Babe Ruth allegedly called his famous home run shot there in 1932 [although, that is open to debate], and the boys named Tinker, Evers and Chance plowed down runners who were foolish enough to try to get on base. Sure, there were also many World Series played there from the early to mid-20th Century, for the Cubs were the dominant National League team of that glorious era of baseball. But, there is also something else that is special about that ballpark: for us Cubs fans, it is our Second Home........ More than any other professional sport, baseball rightfully claims the spot in your heart that is also reserved for where you were born. Childhood and baseball---- for millions--- are interchangeable, they go together like hot dogs and mustard. There is a simplicity about baseball. It is easy to learn and to play. The rules are fairly easy to learn. And, the equipment you use is just as simple: a bat and a ball and a glove. We all know how to hit a ball, we all know how to catch. Whether you are good at it is another matter. But, baseball, unlike other sports, is leisurely. Some call it boring but I call it easy listening music for the sports fan. Football is more monstrous, the heavy metal music that pounds at you from all sides. Basketball is rap music, a gangland style of watch your back or you will get hurt. Hockey is a hodgepodge, a musical sports amalgam of the crazy and the talented. Baseball is the calm oasis in sports, the kind of activity that everyone can play. It cries out for the average person, the working class Joe and Jane, to suit up and play between the golden lines. You want to take it easy and not drive your system to the brink of exhaustion? Baseball is it......... I don't think it is a coincidence that baseball is played during the summertime. Yeah, it starts in the spring and goes to the fall, but, it is a summer sport, played in the best weather of the entire year. Sunshine and blue skies overhead compliment that poetic beauty being played below. Inside the baseball diamond, the young play. You start out playing baseball as children, young innocents who are fresh-faced enough to embrace the game fiercely, without conflict or prejudice. There are no jealousies and no rivalries. Just youngsters playing to have fun---- the rock cradle of any sport. The smell of the glove is forever sealed in your memory, along with the freshness of holding the bat for the first time. Grabbing a baseball and fixing your fingers in the shape of a certain pitch [the best: the two-fingered curve] and pretending to throw with all your might. And, there is also the joy of throwing the ball back and forth to someone else. It is the baseball bond of brothers who love the game. You can whip the ball hard to the other person, but, the best throws are gingerly, just extending the arm and letting the baseball loft in the air. The leisurely way.......... Somewhere in childhood, the innocence of the game is lost and competition rears its ugly head. Competition: the feeling that will follow you in life, whether in sports or in the real world. Its strange how your feelings change as you get older. When I was younger, I wanted to win like everyone else and I cheered for my team to beat the tar out of the opposing team. Never during those times that I won, or, my team I was rooting for won, did I ever think of the losing side. Yes, it is thrilling when my team cracks the winning home run and we, as fans, go crazy. But, now, as a mature man, I find part of me feeling bad for the loser, the guy who gave up the home run. I see sadness and heartbreak now as an adult fan that I bypassed as a kid. Maybe, it is only natural because of the pain and sadness we all acquire as the years pass........ But, the thrill of baseball never gets old. Oh, there were many years when its importance was never on my life radar, for, as the Smart Beatle sang in one of his last songs: ''Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans.'' Everyday life takes your thoughts and interest away from a leisurely sport. But, baseball has always been in the background for me. It was always there when I was ready to embrace it again. A loyal friend who would wait for me. And, it has. The Cubs were my first love as a kid and you never get over your first love. I lived and breathed the Cubs. I knew all of the players and what their numbers were. I had the Cubs hat and shirts. The Cubs were important to me, certainly, more than school. The only thing about school I liked were my friends there [and, a growing interest in girls that I can track from, I think, birth on]. The Cubs have broken my heart more times than any woman. And, like a woman, I have been angry at them, frustrated, and willing to walk away. But, I will never leave the Cubs, flaws and all. And, I will never leave Wrigley Field......... Part of my attraction to Wrigley Field in my Mom. She grew up in that area in the 30's and 40's and was a rabid Cubs fan. She knew all of the players and had her favorites. Later on, when us kids came along, Mom gave us the love of the North Siders for us to keep forever. She saw them go to the World Series several times in her youth. But, they never won. Til her dying day, she remained a Cub fans and hoped to see them win it all......... I write this because this Cubs team now is proving to be something special. They have come out of nowhere and surprised us [and, I believe, themselves] on how good they are. Very good. Possibly, great. We Cubs fans know it is not wise to put the cart before the horse because this organization is notorious from snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. But, there is something in this team. Dare I say it, but, this team reminds me of the ''69 Mets''. The team that literally came out of nowhere and won it all. It could be another miracle!!!........ Or, not. If not this year, maybe, next. Unlike previous Cubs teams that have gone to the post-season, this Cubs squad looks like they have a huge future of victories and championships ahead of them. Recent winning Cubs teams---- 1984, 89, 98, 2003---- were teams for the moment. With those teams, it was a case of ''we have to win this now because we will be bad next year, most likely.'' Not this current crop. These young guys are GOOD!! They kick ass and take no prisoners!!! And, what is even more exciting is that there are more players in the farm system just itching to come to the Big Show. The rebuilding process we were promised that would bring results HAS BROUGHT RESULTS!!! AND, THEY ARE STUNNING!!! This team could be the future dynasty that baseball has been crying for. And Major League Baseball would love it. Just think of all of the publicity that the Cubs being in the World Series would bring to the National Pastime!!! All around the world, the Cubs would be the hot ticket. Grandmothers in Peru would be talking about the Cubs. Even in the darkest caves of Afghanistan, the ISIS monsters would be exclaiming : ''The fuckin imperialistic Cubs are in the World Series! Lets wait on our next Jihad and see how they do.''....... And, if that glorious day comes [it will] and the Chicago Cubs are in the World Series, it will be played at Wrigley Field. 1060 W. Addison. The original ''Field Of Dreams.'' There will be thousands there cheering. Those cheers will be mixed with the ghosts of Cubs fans of the past, also cheering. And, in the midst of that cheering, one voice will stand out for me. A little girl who grew up in that area and became a beautiful woman, both inside and out. Her voice will rise above all of the others for me and my sister, Lisa, to hear. And, we will cheer with her........ GO CUBS!!!!!