As the Cubs tempt fate, fans brace for the inevitable

First appeared on August 18, 2015
in The Lebanon Reporter

With Donald Trump still leading in the polls, Hillary forwarding Top Secret emails and the Cubs winners in ten of their last eleven; its official, the end of the world is upon us.

Turns out that uncle, the one with the ‘Licensed Sasquatch Hunter’ bumper sticker, was right all along. The world will end before Washington starts making sense. For years he took you out to the woods and showed you how to hunt and fish, claiming when the end comes, only the strong, those who can build fires, find fresh meat and tie a barrel hitch, will survive.

By firelight he told you how the moon landing was filmed in a California basement. A two-bedroom ranch owned by the Night Manager of a Denny’s in the San Fernando Valley. “Surprisingly huge basement for a Ranch.”

He swore the Soviets killed Elvis because there was a hidden capitalistic agenda in his lyrics and that cheeseburgers in American schools are green because the FDA was injecting them with human growth hormones. “Reagan was tired of losing to East Germany in the Olympics.”

But that was thirty years ago and not only are you older now, you are also wiser. You know the world most likely isn’t going to end anytime soon. You are also smart enough to realize the Cubs can’t win the World Series this year because this is the year of the sheep, which is basically a goat, and we all know how that’s worked out so far.

Still, the Northsiders are stirring the hearts and minds of this great nation and that’s the part the rest of baseball loves most. The rest of baseball, lounging in their monogramed Turkish bathrobes, sipping Arnold Palmer’s while leafing through dog-eared copies of an ‘Idiots Guide to Dealing with Post-season Success.’

And there they linger, in only the way they can, pretending to read but all the while waiting. Waiting with baited breath for that priceless moment the Cubs fall apart, crushing the hearts of millions, the eternally downtrodden, yet again. A train wreck indeed.

Meaningful baseball has become an oxymoron for Cubs fans, a mythical figure most have spent the better part of a lifetime searching for. There have been glimpses. Grainy images of a foul ball being prematurely snatched up from the stands and a black cat scurrying across an infield. For generations it has loomed on the horizon, just close enough to tease, yet somehow always gone by September.

It’s been over 100 years since a championship last came to the Northside. That magical run was witnessed by then U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. You know Teddy, the Rough Rider who charged up San Juan Hill, a feat so lasting he remains the answer to the most popular question posed to every Ranger stationed at Mount Rushmore. Exhausted families, sunblock pasted faces, herded together in khaki shorts and loud print shirts, cajoling their restless young ones to take in the powerful artistry that is Rushmore, all the while wondering aloud, “Who’s the one next to Jefferson again?”

But despite the Cubs’ newfound fortunes, don’t expect to find the four horsemen galloping down your street anytime soon, it is after all only the third week of August. There is still plenty of time for a full-blown collapse. One so monumental it triggers widespread earthquakes. Cataclysmic tremors that move mountains and cause rocks to fall down upon those hiding amongst them.

And while you’re thinking we’re in trouble either way, just remember the Cardinals are so far ahead of the rest of the National League they could take a couple weeks off and still wake up in first place. This means, Armageddon or not, the Cubs are once again destined to leave fans feeling undeniably inadequate.

© 2015 Eric Walker Williams

A trip into the great unknown

First appeared on July 25th,
in The Lebanon Reporter

In sweeping the Washington Nationals in four games over the weekend the Chicago Cubs have come out of the All Star break firing on all cylinders. This of course comes as a punch in the gut for St. Louis Cardinals fans. Those who know baseball understand the rivalry between the Cubs and Cards is ugly and theirs is a dislike rooted historically, regionally and culturally.
The hatred for Cubs fans in St. Louis is legendary and the ability of Cards fans to heckle, harass and cut down anyone sporting Cub gear is well known throughout the baseball world. Stories of purported showers of stale beer, half eaten boxes of popcorn and vulgarities strike fear in the heart of Cubs fans in much the same way the prospect of a Joe Biden press conference makes Democrats jittery.
Cards fans are reportedly so skilled at making the lives of Cubs fans miserable that one is led to believe the entire city has received some type of formal training or attended a harassment seminar. And we’re not talking your run of the mill- Cubs fan:”Where’s the men’s room?” Busch Stadium Usher “Never heard of it” type of harassment. We’re talking about the no holds barred no family member or subject is off limits type of harassment.
With this in mind, one may feel somewhat sympathetic with yours truly knowing he ventured into Busch Stadium recently sporting what else but a Cubs hat. Of course had the Cards been playing the Cubs, solace surely would have surfaced by finding strength in numbers as Cubs fans notoriously travel well. Alas such was not the case as the Arizona Diamondbacks were in town; which of course made anyone wearing a random Cubs hat an easy target. Easy like fishing with dynamite or teaching a two legged dog to sit.
Unfortunately (or fortunately) the rumors proved to be mere over exaggerations and, as far as heckling goes, the night was pretty uneventful; the experience however was not.
For starters the new Busch Stadium (opened in 2006) is awesome. It probably goes without saying that anyplace that can boast fresh from the brewery Anheuser Busch products and a combination of a Hardees Monster thick-burger and Nathans Famous Hot Dogs all under the same roof is fairly dangerous to begin with. Toss in the modern conveniences of escalators, ATM’s, misting stations and a centerfield big screen large enough to double as a solar cover for Lake Michigan and the result is quite simply a wonderful ball park experience.
The structure is comprised of a stunning red brick which matches perfectly the rust colored turn of the century brewery works downtown. The main entrance and all light towers are rigged with ironwork in arch patterns designed to remind patrons of the historic Eads Bridge which spans the nearby Mississippi River. Between the brick and ironwork, the new Busch Stadium looks like something that fell out of some lost epoch of time before landing amidst the concrete and glass of a bustling modern city.
As if painted by hand, an inspirational view of downtown, including 2/3 of the Arch, hangs above the centerfield stands. The foul territory on both baselines is a vast expanse of grass and the quizzical placement of each bullpen gives the stadium the appearance of a massive waste of space considering the intimate quarters known as Wrigley Field holds nearly as many fans.
Despite this, with a capacity of nearly 44,000, chances are there is a good seat waiting for you in St. Louis and (Cubs fan or not) it is a seat I highly recommend you take.