By David Stanczak
The 2016 Cubs are the latest team to be asked by long-suffering Cub fans the question put to John the Baptist: “Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Those fans found the answer in 1969, 1984, 1989, 2003, 2007, 2008, and 2015 to be a very painful “No.” Cub fans are used to disappointment. How else to explain the anxious looks on the faces of fans at Wrigley Field last Saturday as a game in which the Cubs were completely dominating the Dodgers went into the 8th inning? And when, late in the game, one of the Dodgers hit a pop foul just out of play near the Cubs bullpen, was there a fan who wasn’t thinking Steve Bartman and Moises Alou? We are used to things unraveling at the last minute. But nothing unraveled, and the Cubs made history by winning their first pennant since 1945.
The Cubs are in Cleveland for their first World Series in 71 years. How do you view a World Series title? On the one hand, it will be only another 37 years of history to erase now that they’ve gotten past the no-pennant barrier. On the other hand, the Cubs have wandered aimlessly for 108 years in search of a championship; that’s 2-1/2 times as long as the Israelites wandered in the desert in search of the Promised Land. There are limits to the comparison: I can’t see Moses as Joe Maddon telling the Israelites to try not to suck. The ticket prices at Wrigley reflect the lengthy frustration and disappointment. The justification is that you aren’t just buying a ticket to a ball game, you are making a once-in-a-lifetime investment. But even so, for an elderly fan, the price of even a “cheap” ticket considerably exceeds the amount of their monthly Social Security check. “Let’s see, do I want to eat this month, or go to a ball game?”
All that said, I am hopeful. As I looked into the Cubs dugout last Saturday night, I saw a very loose team, one untroubled by questions of whether they belonged there, whether Joe Buck correctly had them dead and buried at the hands of Clayton Kershaw, or whether some curse was about to overtake them. They are good, and they are having fun. That’s a great combination.
I and my soon-to-be-97 year old father are hoping to see the championship we’ve waited all our lives for.
David Stanczak, a Forum commentator since 1995, came to Bloomington in 1971. He served as the City of Bloomington’s first full-time legal counsel for over 18 years, before entering private practice. He is currently employed by the Snyder Companies and continues to reside in Bloomington with his family.
The opinions expressed within WJBC’s Forum are solely those of the Forum’s author, and are not necessarily those of WJBC or Cumulus Media Inc.
