A Way of Life

Last year the Cubs came up with a new ad campaign. "It's a Way of Life." The "W" in this add is the famous Win Flag that Flies over Wrigley, that is, if the Cubs win. Personally I think it's the perfect add campaign.

First of all, these adds acknowledged the fact that being a Cubs fan is far more than rooting for your team to win the World Series. It has to be or they'd have no fans left. There is something about it that gets in your blood. It easily invades your life.

I'll offer a little example here. Last year I was living in the St Louis area. It was difficult for me to get WGN radio down there. I also didn't have cable or satellite. Because of these factors it was pretty difficult for me to listen to or watch Cubs games. So I downloaded the MLB At Bat app for my phone. This allowed me to listen to any Cubs games no matter where I was.

One day I had gone to the store to get groceries. I was listening to the game on my phone. The Cubs were unfortunately losing. It was in the 8th inning so I did what had to be done. I took the Cubs hat that I was wearing and flipped it upside down. The infamous "rally cap." I wasn't at Wrigley. I wasn't anywhere near Clark & Addison. I wasn't drinking beers with buddies or watching it on TV. I was bringing in groceries from my car. Bags draped over my arms and my phone in my left hand keys in my right and the rally cap on my head.

As I got inside the house I wondered if any of my neighbors had just born witness to this event. Had they looked at me like I was crazy? Did they even know what a rally cap was? Did they just chalk it up to the fact that I'm clearly one of those crazy Cubs fans? The fact is I don't know the answer to any of those questions. I don't know if anyone saw me or not. I was engrossed by the balancing act and listening to the game on my radio. I was to busy wondering, if I was going to let something drop would I let the eggs go or my phone which was serving as the bearer of the Cubs.

As you can see, even in the little things like getting the groceries, being a Cubs fan is a way of life. The other reason I like it is because of the W flag. To Cubs fans everywhere, this symbolizes winning. It's a message about what the Ricketts family is trying to do with the franchise. They are trying to make winning a way of life for Cubs fans. This is important. While I like the names like "lovable losers," and I like cursing goats everywhere. I like using phrases like, "He Bartmaned that one," and convincing people that squirrels can be bad luck. These are all things that come with being a Cubs fan, but they don't have to be. They are things I enjoy about being a fan of my team, but they are not things that I would miss if it meant winning. If it meant watching the Chicago Cubs not only make it to the World Series, but actually watching them WIN!

This is what it's going to mean to be a Cubs fan. It's a Way of life. It is and It's going to be.

Go Cubs Go!

The Epic Saga Continues

I'm not sure when it “officially” started or even how it started. Maybe it was the day I remember when I was younger listening to the Cincinnati Reds games on the radio with my grandpa and I would always root for the other team just to make my grandpa up set, and the game I remember the most? I rooted for the Chicago White Sox. Maybe thats where my road to Fandum started. Back then I was too little and knew very little about batting averages, Era's and stolen base percentages. The players names were jibberish to me, but over the years I stayed interested and learned more and more about the game that I came to love. And for a team that I would grow up laughing crying and even cursing people I don't even know.

I have spent years cheering for a team that some people say hold one of the blackest scandals in the History of the sport. Players wanting to “cash in” before there careers were over. Charles Comiskey was not always the best person to do business with and many players were not over joyed with they way things were being done. A once homeless man mad first baseman Chick Gandil still had Connections in the underworld and got a few of his fellow teammates to throw the World Series. A list of players that included Lefty Williams, Happy Felsh, Swede Risberg, Fred McMullen, Buck Weaver, and Shoeless Joe Jackson Eddie Cicotte. The Sox would lose the Series to the Reds and most of the players would not even go on to get paid. Buck Weaver and Shoeless Joe had awesome numbers at the plate but still wasnt enough to outdo the other players.

All things aside the was rivalry that is some peoples eyes wouldn't reach the scale of epic but in the hearts and soul of Chicago base ball fans its a right of passage. The Cubs and White Sox Rivalry dates back further then most can remember. The first meeting was in 1906 at then names Wrigley Side Park. The White Sox won 2-1. Over the years many great games have been played between the two sides of Chi-town. From the 1906 World series (white Sox won series 4-2) to the ever famous Pierzynski v. Barrett. Who can forget A.j. Colliding with Cub Catcher Michael Barrett. After slapping home plate Pierzynski started walking away when Barrett blocked his path and punched him in the Jaw. Benches cleared and a brawl broke out. And the umpires debated who would be ejected. When the smoke cleared and all was said and done bases were loaded and Tadahito Iguchi hits a Grand-Slam and the Sox went on to win 7-0.

Growing up with my friends who all quintessentially were Cubs fans its been a rough road being a Sox fan. With all the yeas the Sox would get so close to make it in the playoffs only to lose in the first series or to fall just a game or two short or even work to come back from 13 games behind to lead the division by 5 and a half games only to end the season in second place in the division. The rivalry between us has been a cause for most of the arguments my friends and I have had.

And now with the new BP Crosstown cup, Winning can only be sweeter and there is now something to put on display instead of just having bragging rites.

This rivalry between the White Sox from the South Side and The Cubs of The North Side dates back all the way to the founding of the American League. In the early 1900's Mr. Comiskey moved the then Saint Paul Saints to Chicago. The owner of the Cubs got a little upset at Comiskey and finally decided that the team could be moved to Chicago as long as they didn't use the City name “Chicago
was not used in the teams name. Comiskey decided to call the team the White Stockings. What was once the name of the Cubs in the Late 1800's. With the new team in town. The challenge was made.

In 1997 MLB set in place Inter-league play which would set the two teams to meet more routinely. The Cubs and White Sox play each other 6 times a year. Three Games on the South Side. The Games have featured thousands of great Heroics and Errors that have added fuel to the rivalry.

In 2008 the two teams met both leading there division for the first time. The Cubs swept the series at Wrigley Field and then the White Sox swept the Series U.S. Cellular Field. The 3-3 tie at the time set the series record at 33-33 through 2008.

so now its on to 2011, Spring Training is right around the corner and the White Sox are going what they call All in. They have made some decent additions to the squad and some I'm pretty sure were good deals and others I'm not sure. Adam Dunn will be a good addition and help Paul Konerko Dunn is decent at the plate and not a bad first baseman either. I'm not 100% sure who the third baseman job is going to go to. The middle of the infield should be pretty solid. I just hope that Gordon Beckham can live up to the hype and be productive at the plate.

Jake Peavy is well on his way back from shoulder surgery and with Mark Buehrle, John Danks and Gavin Floyd it should be a solid line up I'm really interested to see who they put in the other starting spot as well as the open spot if Peavy is not ready to at the beginning of the season. That said the season is just around the corner and spring is in the air. I can only hope the the Cubs Pitchers and Catchers once again wont get along and the Sox will roll on to keep the cross town cup on the south side of Chicago and possibly make it back to the Playoffs. I would even be OK if the cubs went to. Just so they could lose to the Sox.

Lets Go Sox.