October 27th was one of the saddest days of my life.
It ranks right up there with:
October 14th, 2003October 3rd, 1998October 9th, 1989And who could forget
October 7th, 1984.I have been a
Cub fan all of my life, and for that I blame my mother. She was enthralled with the 1984 Chicago Cubs. She made me turn
Sesame Street off that fateful day, October 7th, 1984, to watch the National League East Champion Chicago Cubs. Behind
Rick Sutcliffe, they took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning at
Jack Murphy Stadium, only to see
Leon Durham let a ball roll between his legs and
Tony Gwynn, one of the best hitters of all time, double in a couple of runs to give the Padres they lead for good.
While I blame my mother for my love of the Cubs, I must thank my mother for my love of baseball. It has given me so much joy in my life. I was fortunate enough to play in high school and be a varsity starter for two years. The game is a passion of mine, and I believe there is only one way to play the game. You play hard, you run out every ground ball, you slide hard to break up a double play, and you do the little things right. For that, I thank my mother. Without her playing catch with me on a weekly basis, or signing me up for little league, or watching my games from the “skybox” of our 1996 Honda Accord, I would never have known those things and been able to translate them to life.
My mother also taught me growing up that the Cardinals were the divisional rival and, for that, our most hated opponent. My grandfather was a die-hard Cub fan and my uncle’s license plate reads CUB ND 1. The Cubs played baseball during the day (the way it was meant to be played), and they had a certain character about them. The first Cub team I remember may not have been the most polished team or even the best team on the field. But they were a cast of characters that included the
Wild Thing,
the Hawk,
Mad Dog,
Ryno, and
Gracie. They appeared to enjoy coming to the park day in and day out.
Throughout the years I have endured some of the best and worst the Cubs players including
Glenallen Hill,
Sammy Sosa,
Anthony Young,
Nomar Garciaparra and who can forget
Gary Gaetti. No matter how bad the Cubs were, I could always take solace in the fact that the dreaded divisional rival, the Cardinals, never won the World Series and couldn’t state they were the best team in baseball. Now, I am screwed.
Next year will mark 99 years since the Cubs won the World Series and it is an awful feeling.
You wonder what card you drew in life to deserve this fate. While the prospects for them winning it next year are highly improbable, I just hope that the Cardinals don’t repeat.
Labels: Chicago Cubs
