Friday, September 8, 2023

September 8--The Vulnerability of Being a Cubs Fan

Love is the burning point of life, and since all life is sorrowful, so is love. The stronger the love, the more the pain. Love itself is pain, you might say--the pain of being truly alive.  --Joseph Campbell

    This is heavy, so I'm going to lighten it. I'm approaching this as a Cubs fan. I became a Cubs fan way back in 1989 or so. WGN offered the only daily baseball broadcast that we could get, so I became a Cubs fan. "The stronger the love, the more the pain" became the story of my life as they had OK years and crappy years. Mostly their pitching was the problem, though I surely did love to watch Greg Maddux hurl the ball. It became one of my three overarching goals in life--to see the Cubs win the World Series. Note that this has been a goal of millions who had passed because the Cubs went World-Series-winless from 1908 to 2016. It was a very long sorrowful time for Cubs fans. 
    In the very wee hours of November 2, 2016, I can testify that there IS crying in baseball. After over a century's drought, the Cubs won in extra innings in Game 7. My friend living in Chicago invited me to the celebration parade, but I declined, saying, "There will be 5 million people there." Literally, there were 5 million people there. The Cubs fan base is huge--we know love and we know sorrow. 
    Am I nuts about baseball or what?!?!?!
        Leta

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