Yes, I stayed up past my bedtime (oh, who am I kidding? I often stay up later than I should) watching the World Series, and yes, it\u2019s exciting to see the Cubs win in the 10th inning. \u00a0Though, to be honest, I feel more happy for all my friends and neighbors and everyone else who has loved the Cubs over the years, than I feel excited about the win itself.<\/p>\n
And I was playing around with a clever title, something like, \u201cChicago wins its first sports championship since . . . 2015\u201d \u2013 with reference to the Blackhawks\u2019 Stanley Cup win in 2015, which was preceded by wins in 2013 and 2010. \u00a0Before that, of course, was the White Sox\u2019s win in 2005, and the Bulls\u2019 string of championships ending in 1998. \u00a0So the 108-year drought is not a Chicago thing, but is Cubs-specific.<\/p>\n
So why did<\/em> it take 108 years? \u00a0My pet theory had always been that it\u2019s in part because of those fans, and because of the Wrigleyville atmosphere; the Cubs sold tickets year in and year old to fans who wanted to enjoy a day at the historic ballpark, and a night at the bars, whether or not the team won, or was having a winning season. \u00a0And that\u2019s a good thing, in general \u2014 better than a devastating drop in attendance for a poor team that they can never recover from \u2014 but can also mean that the owner can just sit back and collect the revenues rather than working at whatever strategy (and, let\u2019s face it, this means trades for the right players, doesn\u2019t it?) will bring about a better team, especially if the team\u2019s fans seem to enjoy such stories as the Billy Goat curse and the more recent Bartman scapegoating.<\/p>\n But anyway, good for them! \u00a0And it\u2019s interesting to observe and think about baseball for a little while \u2014 a game so different from basketball or football or hockey, with a slower pace and with the equalizing factor that everyone\u2019s in the batting order. \u00a0And one thing that I thought was remarkable was the frequency with which there were extremely close calls, runner and caught ball making it to the base at so very nearly the same time.<\/p>\n Now back to work . . .<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yes, I stayed up past my bedtime (oh, who am I kidding? I often stay up later than I should) watching the World Series, and yes, it\u2019s exciting to see the Cubs win in the 10th inning. \u00a0Though, to be honest, I feel more happy for all my friends and neighbors and everyone else who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[32,485],"class_list":["post-5605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-baseball","tag-chicago-cubs"],"yoast_head":"\n