Everytime I make a comment on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace..whatever about the Cubs about ANYTHING I get 90% Cubs haters coming back at me with the “loveable losers,” “you’ll never win,” “you are cursed,” “all the Cubs care about is money” blah blah blah. Well this blog is about the Cubs, win, lose, love em, leave em. So I decided to devote one entry to all of the Cubs haters out there. America is all about freedom of expression and believing in what YOU believe and not being judged, so I here by dedicate this entry to Cubs haters everywhere. I ask you to do only one thing when you reply back: Tell me, WHY do you hate the Cubs so much? I’ve given you a list below of various reasons I’ve heard through out the years, but if you have your own hater story, by all means fill in the blank. I still don’t get why the Cubs are hated so much, we’re not the YANKEES for goodness sakes. Is it our players? Our fans? Our management? Inquiring minds want to know. Please share, and be as mean or nasty as you want – after all, I asked for it.

By the way there is a method to my madness. I will have a response to everyone who replies, and I will post to your own blog and promote you, just make some sense or rationale behind your hatred behind the Cubs when you post.

Here’s a list to get you started, you can add on to each bullet or enter in your own:

Why do so many hate the Cubs? Is it because…

1. They get more media attention than most teams (that’s a fact)

2. They have the 3rd highest paying salary in baseball?

3. They make excuses for not winning and blame it on fans like Bartman, a black cat, a goat or whatever other curse they think they have?

4. They pack in every home game, and most away games season after season, win or lose no matter what?

5. The fans are so die-hard it pisses you off that they just won’t quit?

6. The owners seem to care more about money than a championship or so it appears?

7. You love to kick a team when they’re down so it’s easy to hate on them?

8. You know as a Cubs hater, deep down in that dark heart of yours that if they do win it all that it will be the biggest thing in sports history, probably ever to this point and that pisses you off?

9. You can’t get tickets to the game or you’ve never been to Wrigley so don’t even GET it?

10. You dated a Cubs fan who broke your heart once?

11. You just don’t get the movie Fever Pitch and understand what it’s truly like to love the game of baseball and love your team?

12. I can’t think of anymore….I am sure you Cubs haters can.

How many die-hard fans don’t live in the city where our favorite team plays? I know there has to be thousands of us out there….aimlessly logging on to MLB.com to get status of our team, trying to figure out what time they play if we’re in different time zones. It’s like juggling a long distance relationship that you know will never end unless you compromise and move to them.

I lived in Chicago for 10 years and was blessed by the Red Line train to Wrigleyfield after a day’s work, to catch a night game, then go home slightly tipsy and catch another day at work and do it all over again. I was so spoiled living in that city and being able to go see the Cubs anytime at home. I remember when it would be around 3:00 on a Tuesday, the Cubs playing at home at 7:05pm, and I’d say to my other Cubs game soul mate Lissette – “hey…should we go to the game?” And it would be as easy as that. We’d finish up work, catch the El at 6:00pm and have a beer in our hands by the time the national anthem was sung. And the best part about living in the same city your team is – seeing it live, seeing the plays, the memorable wins, losses and inning by inning biting on your nails tied games that would end in celebration..hopefully. The best part – talking about seeing Derek Lee hit a grand slam to the bleachers against the White Sox, when he just stepped off the bench in ’07. Or seeing Aramis hit an HR to sweep the Brewers. There’s nothing like being there to see it, to live it, and to talk about it for days, weeks, even years after.

And now it’s all changed for me. I’m still struggling with my new routine and how to be a die-hard Cubs fan. There is no doubt I’m still a die-hard fan, but it’s just more difficult. I live in LA, 1700 miles away from Wrigleyfield. I’m 2 hours behind Chicago. They usually are playing when I’m at work. And unless they are on WGN I can’t see them on TV because of course they show the Dodgers here. And so I have to get MLB TV, which is fine….it’s just not being able to easily see them. To hear that they played an amazing 9th inning at home and hear about it at 5:00pm while I’m at work from a friend back in Chicago. Knowing I missed a great play, a great win, or just plainly…a great day at Wrigley.

Even worse is living in a city that isn’t sports minded, well except for the NBA really. In Chicago any sports bar would be playing the Cubs, even one on the Southside. Now I have to call ahead to see if they’ll show it on even on TV.

I know I chose to leave the windy city for a better job, better weather and well….a better lifestyle  here in Cali by my opinion. But it’s often frustrating, and depressing for me to love them from so far away. Long distance relationships don’t often last, but this one is a bit different.

Coming back for home opener made me realize how much I still love my Cubs. And they won, for me I believe. My only hope is that like Haray Caray, I am forever there in spirit at the game, if not physically able to be there.

This entry is for all of those die-hard fans who share long distance relationships with their own teams like I do. Here’s to hoping that I’ll be back in Chicago in October…maybe, just maybe watching them win a WS.

GO CUBS!

I’m still waiting on pictures from friends, but thought I’d recap as it’s been over 24 hours since the long-awaited Cubs home opener. Let’s set the scene, shall we?

8:30AM: Breakfast at Nookies in the Gold Coast, fueling up for a cold game, including eggwhite omelette, green tea and watching the streets outside as it slowly starts to drizzle.

9:15AM: Last minute stop to Target because James forgot his cold weather tights under his jeans (and yes, it was THAT cold). We run aimlessly through Target and realize that their winter clothes are no longer out. Um…WHAT? Oh well, James will have to freeze…didn’t he prepare for this day previously? Lesson learned.

10:20AM: Hailing a cab from Lakeview to head to the field. The cab driver doesn’t know where Wrigleyfield is. UM….did he just move to this country?

10:30AM: Hugs given all around to the ever-loyal Cubs ticketing office, a quick catching up conversation and we head back out into the now pouring rain, which inevitably indicated a rain delay.

11:00AM: A cold Bud Lite at the famous Cubby Bear, but the music sucks and we’re not into it. James makes me slam my beer (not a fan of that) and we head back out into the now very pouring rain. Gross. 

11:15AM: Sluggers baby. A hug to the manager Zack, and traditional season veteran bartenders Allie and David and head back to our saved table with our usual die-hard Cubs friends, to toast to another season. Oooh now we can drink hard liquor. That weird sensation comes over us from drinking during the day…it’s light out and we have a buzz. Always weird.

12:30AM: Slow down on the drinking, we have a long day ahead of us. Game now starts at 2pm. Tabs to close, rain gear to put on, and bathroom stops to make before we leave. It’s still raining. 

2:00PM: The song “Jump” by Van Halen fills the packed stadium and rain covered seats as our beloved Cubbies run onto the field. It’s raining slightly and the wind has picked up off of the lake, but we’re prepared. My butt is wet, shoes soaked and any hope of looking good is now diminished with my semi-wet hair. And as you can see from the picture above, it’s a PACKED stadium, wind, snow, rain WHATEVER we are always there.

2nd inning: Cubs get on the scoreboard and the rain turns into a slight drizzle. The wind dies down and it’s not so cold. Wait, is that the liquor talking or did it really warm up? 

4th inning: Doh! And the Cubs get 2 runs…ha ha ha. Bathroom break necessary. By the way our seats are 129, 3rd base line, 6 rows up.

6th inning: Lillly nearly has a no-hitter, but then the inevitable happens and some ******* from the Rockies gets a base hit. We cheer Lilly off of the field right before top of 7. I could have sworn Mark Grace sang the 7th inning stretch, but I’m still not sure. 

Not sure what inning this was, but the Rockies manager gets ejected from the game. Ha ha ha.

After getting soaked for over 7 innings our clan had to make its way back to Sluggers to watch the game in the warmth and dry seats with some fresh brew. We celebrate by singing “Go Cubs Go” after the top of the 9th, beating CO 4-0 and continue to party.

10:00PM Butch Maguire’s eating dinner. I’m so tired I can’t even see. How did I used to do this for every single Cubs game anyways? I look in the mirror and things aren’t looking too well. It’s time to call it a day. Hail a cab, back to Greektown and pass out with a smile because my Cubbies won home opener, and I flew 1700 miles to see them do it.

GO CUBS!

Even if you couldn’t watch your team live or had to be at work (my Cubbies played at 4pm my time so had to watch on MLB.com) you could still feel the utter excitement and chills as the MLB season got underway. What happened today?

The Yankees got a little clobbered, the Dodgers won (arrrggh), White Sox get canceled due to the typical Chicago spring-time weather, the Marlins clobber in their first game and hello the Cubbies hit a home run on the first pitch of the game against Houston. Oh what a beautiful start Soriano.

And the Cubs home opener is in 6 days. SIX DAYS. My little Cubby blue a*s will be on a plane on Easter Sunday, and my alarm will go off sharply at 7am on Monday. I’ll be proudly wearing my Cubby blue, flask in hand, breakfast at Nookie’s to get some fuel and a stop by the Wrigley office to get my tickets before heading to Sluggers to say hi to the crew. There is NOTHING like your own home opener..NOTHING.

I will still stick to my ever faithful one game at a time rule this season, and this time. Cubs WIN 4-2. That’s my boys!

GO CUBS!

Anyone read the article on MLB.com asking fans whether or not they think this is the year for the Cubs?

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090401&content_id=4099874&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

The most interesting part of the article was reading that Cubs fans, for once, seem to be cautious, yet optimistic. Sure there are still those bitter fans, licking their wounds from seasons passed, but like all good Cubs fans; we forgive. After reading this article it ocurred to me that what was said about Cubs fans is true. No matter how much other MLB fans love to call us the loveable losers; we’re still faithful. It’s that loyalty and die-hard ability to love in the best and worst times that makes us truly great. Sure we get angry when the Cubs let us down, and it hurts, it hurts deep down and seeps into every Cubby blue vein in our bodies. It sounds dramatic, but that’s who we are.

I know every fan of every team thinks they have the best fans around, but considering everything we’ve been through, every trial, every tribulation (curses, Cubs haters, sweeps in the playoffs, injured players, bad trades..ahem DeRosa), we’re still here. We have lyrical souls, to quote Drew Barrymore from the movie “Fever Pitch,” we can “love under the best and worst conditions.” 

On opening day, the stands will be filled with the ever faithful Cubby fan, with that butterfly of excitement that can only be experienced by a new season, a new start. And this season, unlike any other season, perhaps we’ve been humbled, thus becoming more realistic about our team. I think I like this new found Cubs fan faith, it’s renewed, re-vived, healthier.  

I’m neither a pessimist this season nor an optimist. I choose to feel the ride and enjoy the excitement, whatever may be. I will bask in the knowledge that no one on this earth can ever take away my love for the Cubs or what they’ve brought me over the years, whether it was utter pain or sheer happiness. And win or lose, THAT my friends is what makes a true baseball fan. 

12 days to Cubs home opener. GO CUBS GO!