A Subdued Cub Fan's Last Request

i suppose I should talk about the Cubs a bit here.

I'm a long-time fan of the Cubs, but I tend not to get overly excited about sports, so something like a Van Morrison concert will put me into a state of frenzy normally reserved for division-clinching.

A year ago I could barely watch the Cubs in the playoffs, too pissed off at them for being a crappy, crappy team for too long. I had spent the last ten years or so flirting with the Red Sox, and just couldn't bring myself to get excited about a team I knew would collapse and fail in the playoffs. (And they did.)

Over the winter I softened a bit, and my roving eye came home to the Cubs. Watched a ton of games this summer, had a lot of fun with the Cubs/Sox mutual sweeps during summer theatre, even bought myself a new cap. And I don't buy stuff like that very often. Just not me.

Tomorrow I'll gather 'round the TV with some family and we'll watch Game 1. And I'll be more excited than I am right now. Right now the White Sox are playing, and I'm trying to figure out if i want them to win or lose. It's quite the existential crisis.

I think I want the Sox to win, because this has been going on all season long. Both teams were in first for most of the season, both teams swept the other at their ballparks. Some of my family and friends are Cubs fans, some are Sox fans.

So if the Sox win tonight, we get to keep this going for a bit longer, and maybe all the way to the Series.

If the Sox lose, well, it's because they fucking suck.

UPDATED: Sox won. Two Chicago baseball teams in the playoffs. Awesome.

Da Bears

(This photo, and many like it, can be found at Chicagoist Todd's Flickr site.)

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited about today's game. I'd also be lying if I sat here and wrote about how this is the fulfillment of all my dreams and wishes and all that crap. Never could get into football enough for that attitude; never thought of an Urlacher jersey as everyday wear.

When the Cubs finally make it into the World Series I'll be excited on a level heretofore unknown for a guy like me. For now, though, it's been a great season of games and spirit days at work, good food with the Duders on Sundays and "Go Bears!" ending every conversation people have with each other.

If the Bears lose against the Colts I won't cry into my beer and I won't shout obscenities at the TV. But I'll gorge myself on bad snack food and drink lots of beer and shout at the TV like everyone else today and it'll be a great fucking time.

Go Bears.