I have been a Cubs fan since the summer of 1983, or possibly 1984. It was a long time ago. I just remember Ron Cey was the third baseman and I wanted to support a team who would play a guy who looked like Ron Cey. (Great stache, by the way.)
There have been some tough times since.
The ball went through Leon Durham's legs. They lost a lot. The Bartman incident. (I will never again step foot into the house where I watched the Bartman game. It's cursed, too.) They lost a lot more.
In 1997, my college roommate, a guy from Chicago, and I, put up the Cubs schedule on our dorm room door in Swanson Hall and were going to write "W" or "L" next to every game and keep a running total for the season. They lost the first 13 games.
But none of that matters because the Cubs won today, on Opening Day, 16-7. They are tied for first. Juan Pierre is hitting lead-off and the world is in perfect harmony. I can hardly remember Corey Patterson's name, or how painful it was to see him and his .254 on-base percentage leading off last year.
I realize Mark Prior and Kerry Wood are hurt, again, or still, or always, whatever the official injury list designation is. (Can we just go ahead and write them down as questionable for Opening Day 2007 and 2008?) But I have a good feeling anyway, that this ... just ... might ... be ... the ... year.
Stop laughing. I was serious.
Leave a comment