Here we go…again.  I’m trying to re-launch this blog, and
am writing this entirely hungover and tired from last night’s Victoria’s Secret
swim party. Okay so maybe I shouldn’t be complaining. And maybe I shouldn’t
have waited until the night before

Cubs home opener to update my blog. Oh well.

So it’s been a minute since I’ve provided my unbiased
opinion on the Cubs. Between living in LA now working in entertainment as a
publicist, writing my first novel, and trying to fly back for my beloved Cubs,
it’s been a bit…challenging. I know no one reading this probably cares or your
care factor is most likely a -6, but I feel like I owe an explanation to my
readers.

Has it really been 365 days since the last home opener? And
yet, here we are. Thaw out the field, load up the beer kegs, stock up the bars
and raise the concession food prices (oh, and the ticket prices too) because
dammit it’s Cubs home opener and baseball season time. My favorite time of the year.

Usually I get sappy, emotional, angry, sad or all of the
above. I’m too tired to do that. I’m too tired to go over the starting line up,
and my duty is to comment on the off-season trades, the Rickett’s decisions in
salary updates, and our beloved pitching (Oh Zambrano did you learn anything in
anger management class?).

But you already know the line up. So I’m not going to
bother. However I heard rumblings that we may acquire Pujols if he becomes a
free agent. I personally know his agent out here in LA, but he won’t give me
any of the deets. Booo to you Danny my favorite MLB agent!

Let’s do a recap. Maybe you don’t need it, but I like to
re-live heartbreak:

Circa: 2008. Playoffs. Dodgers vs. Cubs. We got drilled.
Destroyed. Shot out of a cannon and left for dead. Whatever you call it, it was
devastating, terribly heartbreaking and speaking for myself – a very dark and
dreary November and December post-season blues. In fact, now that I’m re-living
that post-season gloom I remember I actually got dumped by a guy who said
watching a Cubs game with me when they are losing was not pleasant. He’s from
LA. Not a baseball fan. Why did I even date him again? Never mind.

Let’s go back farther:

Circa 2003:

On second thought….let’s not. Bartman anyone? Where is that
guy anyways?

Circa: 1998:

Oh boy…..not gonna go there either.

Need I say anymore? I think I’ve re-capped it well.

And yet, we prevailed. I’m talking about Cubs fans, not the
Cubs. We prevailed and somehow took our heavy hearts and recovered. Now I’m
getting sappy.

So here we are again.

First we have to ask ourselves, where are we at? We all know
how 2010 season ended up, in 4^th place in the division and not much
else to savor. There really wasn’t the glimmer of hope that often lingers, the
“maybe next year” that usually rolls off of our tongues didn’t have it’s normal
hope and sound to it.

And let’s not forget that in 2010 we lost our beloved Ron
Santo. I can’t re-launch my blog with out mentioning him. Never made it to the
hall of fame, and never saw his team win it all. Oh Ron how we miss you!

Now that I’ve plummeted this entire blog down the path of
misery I vote for some cheerleading. Everyone always asks me will the Cubs win
this year, what do you think of the Cubs? (As if I’m the expert…but hey I like
to think my opinion holds a morsel of weight).

My redeeming opinion: I honestly have no idea. I know,
that’s terrible. What kind of sports writing is that? It’s honest. Every year I
usually say, “this is the year!” but I just can’t this time. Remember when they
put Kerry Wood on the cover of SI in 2003? Look what happened! The curse of the
SI cover happened, yet I failed to believe in that curse (ha ha the Phillies
grace this year’s SI baseball issue).

I refuse to believe the curse of the billy goat. REFUSE.

And I refuse to believe that the Cubs CAN’T win it all. I
mean listen, it’s bound to happen. I vote for 2012, the world is supposedly
supposed to end, Mayan calendar, ya da ya da. Not this year. We’ll place 2^nd
in our division, or maybe make the wild card. I vote for next year. It would be
seemingly more fit to have them win the year the world ends.

For all of my beloved Cubs friends who will grace the Cubs
with your presence at tomorrow’s game, I am there in spirit. Actually I’ll be
listening to the game at work while it will be 78 degrees here in LA.

And for those of you that dare say I’m not a Cubs fan because I didn’t fly back for home
opener, I say to you:  read my
entire blog (if you haven’t already), then come check out my office, riddled
with Cubs signs, hats, whatever I can put in there. Or look at my past bank statements
dating back to who knows; every single year – from the game tickets to the bar
tabs, to cab rides (it all attributes to Cubs games), etc. I would say I’ve
spent roughly $189,645.23 on the Chicago Cubs. That’s probably estimating a bit
low. In fact I should send them an invoice. They owe me.

But in all seriousness, dress warm, bring the flask (if you
don’t have one you can use my Playboy flask I often used to bring to games), go
to Sluggers and say hi to Zack and David, and if it starts snowing or raining
drink more or buy a $15 poncho. They both work well against the elements.

For those of you who weren’t smart enough to read this entry
all the way down, Erin Heatherton (Victoria’s Secret Angel and Skokie, IL
native) will be throwing out the first pitch of the Mets series on Wednesday,
May 25^th compliments of yours truly, #1 diehard fan living in Los
Angeles, and I will be there for the entire series and so can’t wait to see my
boys!

And now I bit adieu, my first entry of the season. Blog re-launched, and I won’t post any pictures like I usually do until I get some from my photographers going to the game tomorrow (James, Lissette you know what to do!)

Hey hey whattya say, the Cubs are gonna win today!!

GO CUBS!!

I’ve read it all and I’m caught up – the Bleacher Report, the updates on MLB.com, and my favorite ESPN.com writer – Jon Greenberg commenting on the Cubs season this year and what the future holds for one of America’s favorite baseball teams. They’ve all given me reasons to believe this year, that maybe the dark, brooding clouds that have lurked over Wrigleyfield have now moved on to another baseball team or simply disappeared into the Chicago skyline forever, leaving nothing but clear, blue skies, ready for the Cubs to hurl their baseballs high in the air to have a winning season.

Reasons to believe this year? Here they are, whacky, whimsical and yes, a little crazy…

1. An actual owner to the team – while it was in talks since the ’08 season, the Ricketts family finally officially owns the Cubs, and quickly implemented a new marketing campaign “Year 1″ and the Cubs official slogan “It’s a Way of Life,” with the “W” in the “Way” representing the ever-famous WIN W flags held up after each game the Cubs win, and the Year 1 representing that it’s not 102 years anymore, it’s year 1 of the Cubs, perhaps…finally starting over. You can’t deny the positive and somewhat “dreamy” new make-over to the outside of Wrigleyfield either – it makes your heart beat faster and brings chills of excitement just seeing the new look. Change, in a sense, is good.

Reason to Believe #2 – the addition of outfielder Marlon Byrd and hitting coach Jaramillo. Marlon Byrd, a new outfielder for the Cubs, drafted by the Phillies in 1999, came to the Cubs from the Nationals, with a new sense of renewed energy. Jaramillo, the Cubs new pitching coach is known for teaching players their own swing, and how to fix it and really learn how to capitalize on their own hitting talents – and the Cubs bats have been needing a little something something with their hitting the the last several seasons.

Reason #3 – the new Wrigleyfield bathrooms. I know what you are thinking. Come on,

really? Yes, really. Anyone who has experienced a game at Wrigley knows about the long lines to the bathrooms, and the noticeable smells due to the city’s lovely underground plumbing issues. Not only have the Ricketts refurbished the bathrooms, but they have also invested a cool $10 million for the new PNC club, luxury heated seats with food and beverage, and much more as well as a special viewing area for fans to watch batting practice and opening up Sheffield Grill to the public. I still think many will applaud and appreciate the brand new bathrooms above all else. It’s about time!

Reason #4 – The Cubs have been humbled. Although it’s over and done with, the Cubs needed another season to be healed by the debauchery of the ’08 playoffs season. While they never have won a World Series, the Cubs, well and their fans too have been living off of a righteous belief that well, they deserve to win a World Series. A belief that the championship was rightfully theirs, and learning the hard and harsh way that no one really deserves to win. You have to earn it. 2008 humbled the Cubs, something they may have needed, and now as Soriano quotes “This team needs one more chance to go to the playoffs,” in other words – they know they have to work for it. Just because it’s been 102 years doesn’t give them the right to win, they’ll win when they have played better than any other team in the league, and earn the respect of the league.

Reason #5 – World Series Virgins – while being virgins to a World Series hasn’t helped the Cubs get there since 1908, getting so close in 2008 may have left some leftover ambience with the current team roster that almost tasted what it would be like. Almost is the key word – they almost got there, closer than they have at least in awhile, or at least closest with the most winning season to back them up in a long time. In the simplest words, the Cubs don’t know what it’s like to win it all, and that may be another reason why we can still believe in them. When you have a team that hasn’t tasted it yet, it makes them that much hungrier to get that first, luscious bite of victory.

Reason #6 – The Cubs aren’t favored to win the World Series. And they shouldn’t be. The Cardinals are strongly favored, with the Reds in a close second, no one really thinks it’s the Cubs year. We’ve all seen it – year after year media outlets, sports anchors, and the cursed Sports Illustrated cover saying “The Cubs will win the World Series.” Not this year. Nope. That alone is a reason to believe, it sounds crazy – but for once there is no pressure.

I guess I could go on, but I’m going to stop at 6, simply because it’s enough for this, die-hard, passionate Cubs blogger to believe, just once more. My cup of “believe kool-aid” is full again, whether or not these reasons work for the readers is up to you – maybe you have your own reasons, but I think I can safely say that no matter what, we all admittedly still BELIEVE.

GO CUBS!

So many trades, so many changes, as we finally got rid of the infamous character of Milton Bradley and his idiotic behavior, and gained a multi-million dollar family to own the Cubs (The Rickett family), and the future is faced with the every day fear of one of the country’s oldest ball parks being torn down. What ever will happen this year?

I don’t know. I really don’t know. Every year I think I know. Some years I think it’s THE YEAR. I think, this HAS to be it (circa 2008) when I thought that only God could understand how very amazing, wonderful and truly spectacular it would have been for the Cubs to win it on the 100 year anniversary of them winning it all way back in 1908 when none of us were even on this earth yet. Or in the beginning of each season, when the ballpark grounds have thawed, the brown ivy slowly sprouting green buds, and the smell of baseball, beer and hotdogs filling the air, and the ghosts of players past, long gone, only to whisper the hope of a win that will finally, FINALLY FINALLY end this drought that the Cubs and their fans, WE have all suffered from.

It’s hard not to get poetic or emotional, what can I say? So before I get even further into my wishes, prayers and dreams about another opening season, I really need your help. Why do you think they will win, or why don’t you? I’ve asked for objective opinions before.

Tell me…..fill my BLOG! Do we have the bats? Do we have the pitching? Do we have the coaching? Do we have the pinch hitters, the closing pitchers, the outfield talent? And will Zambrano really get his sh*t together? Give it to me.

Deadline 2/26 so I can post your entries along with MLB’s pictures and MLB quotes by 2/28. Only 50+ days until Cubs home opener.

My official Cubs blog is now OPEN to the 2010 Chicago Cubs season!! I really don’t want to see this posted with the year “2011″ on it. Let’s JUST DO IT already!

Well this is it. My last entry for the MLB season. I could fill it with some emotional, heartfelt, sappy verbiage about how the Cubs’ fate, yet once again ended up in a non-World Series win, not even a post-season hope all of the die-hard loving fans who, like me, will most likely (if not already) be counting the days until the season home opener in the spring. No, I’m not going to get sappy, well maybe a little bit. For now I choose to say it how it is. This season stunk. Let’s review, shall we?

1. Milton Bradley – Bad energy. Good riddence.

So much to highlight, but let’s just start with suspensions, and his completely unappreciative quotes to the media on why his playing for the Cubs wasn’t his greatest or finest moments, and I quote from the man himself on how he feels back at home compared to being in Chicago, (after a 15 – 6 loss to the Nationals in August), ”When I go home and look in the mirror, I like what I see. My family is there I have people I can talk to who are very supportive, in spite of everything and all the adversity and the hatred you face on a daily basis. But I’ll be all right. I always have.”

“I’m talking about hatred, period. I’m talking about when I go to eat at a restaurant. I’ve got to listen to the waiters badmouthing me at another table, sitting in a restaurant. That’s what I’m talking about. Everything.”

In response to this, hey BRADLEY: You signed a 3 year, $30 MILLION contract in the off-season, you make more in one year than most Cubs fans will in a lifetime. Suck it up and be appreciative that Cubs fans actually care about the game, and suck it up that well, honey…you STINK.

2. Soriano – that famous hop he does catching the ball in the outfield didn’t help him hit enough RBIs for us in the regular season. What took Paniella so long to move him down in the line up? And why wasn’t Soto moved in his place faster? That leads into the next reasoning…

3. Management – What did Lou say at the beginning of the post season last year when we actually made the playoffs “In the playoffs, everyone starts out at the same level. It doesn’t matter what you did in the regular season, all that matters is what you do in the post.” Um we didn’t do ANYTHING. Oops I stand corrected – the Cubs played their three worst games in the post season against the Dodgers compared to any regular season game. But let’s stay on track people, that was 2008. I feel like Lou takes too long to make decisions. What’s his rationale behind this? Can his management please contact me and get me a direct quote in answer to this?

4. Ownership – Should this really effect how the Cubs play? So a really prominent, wealthy (insanely wealthy) family purchased the Cubs , the Rickett family to be exact, for $900m, or so they say. Not sure if this effected the Cubs’ playing in ’09, but it was a huge news worthy happening that seemed to fuel Cubs haters everywhere. As if there weren’t enough.

5. Pitching Pitching PITCHING – Ok so in all honesty, we’ve come a long way. Marmol and Dempster certainly seemed to prove themselves this season, but it seems with pitching. Whenever the Cubs take 3 steps forward, we end up taking 4 steps back. What happened to Zambrano in the last half of the season? Is he having personal problems? He used to be our Ace. The one that could pitch until the 7th inning and keep it under control, despite his emotional connection to the game. We’ve come a long way, but we have such a long way to go.

Should I keep going with reasons? Isn’t this what we do every year? As a baseball fan, and as a Cubs fan, we always try to figure out what went wrong, where it went wrong. It’s like seeing a relationship end and you have no idea where it started to go badly, you just know you watched it spiral down into nothing but a bad ending. And with this season, I know I even speak for the Cubs ticketing office who said what I felt “we just can’t wait for this season to end.” Listen folks, I’m tired. I’m tired of making excuses or rationalizing or trying to figure out the perfect formula for the Cubs actually having a true winning season. I am pretty certain you’d have to be some MIT grad to figure out the right formula for this mess.

But…but, as you all know, I like to look at the glass half full and appreciate the good times, win or lose I have every season. Unfortunately I didn’t make it to many home games this season, my travels had me elsewhere, but of course I was there for home opener, and blogged about our amazing win, despite the rain and the cold. And I was there in September, even though the season was over for us, I enjoyed an amazing Fall day at Wrigley in the bleachers, with some of my favorite Cubs fans and friends, saluting purple heart war Veterans at the beginning of the game, and watching the Cubs, well, lose the game. But it was still brilliant. It’s still Wrigleyfield, and it’s still about the dark green ivy in the Fall, and the stands that are still, still packed for every single game. It’s still about the game of baseball, no matter what happens.

The Cubs are like a very long term relationship. In the beginning, it’s new and fresh and full of energy. But like any long-lasting relationship, comes heartache, compromise, frustration and exasperation. The great thing about a long term relationship with the Cubs is that you get a break from it. You have time to lick the wounds, curse the Cubs over a finely brewed beer in the off-season, and then laugh with your fellow Cubs fans as spring comes around and the air is fresh and last season’s heartaches have been swept from Wrigleyfield by the Chicago Winter winds. And once again, in 179+ days (ok so I don’t know the exact count right now), I’ll be back, and so will you, and you know it. And we’ll hope again, because that is what Cubs fans do, no matter what others say, no matter how they say the Cubs stink (even if they do sometimes), we’ll always be here, hoping, dreaming, waiting, along with that 95 year old Cubs fan who still believes, so why shouldn’t we?

Here’s to next season boys, but give us some time for the wounds from this season to heal, once again. 

                             September 17th, 2009 Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers

                                     A Cubs fan in the beginning of the season.. 

         A Cubs fan at the end of the season..can’t we change this outcome?                           

In baseball we all know the season is long. It’s ever-changing, it’s heart-breaking, frustrating, annoying, anger-ridden, joy-filled, and quite frankly – exhausting. It takes a lot to be a baseball fan, to endure all of the months. In a Cubs fan’s case, the bitter cold that sometimes happens in the beginning of the season, the delayed games due to tornadoes in May and June, torrential rain storms in May, June, July, August. Then you have to deal with the game itself. The players, the management, the pitching coaches, the batting line-up that should have changed about 5 series back and is just now getting in the right order (we hope). The money spent on cold beer, hot dogs and whatever else you engaged in during a game (or the many bar tabs from Wrigleyville).

It’s July. If your team is 3 games back you still have hope. Anything can change in the course of a series, a weekend, even one game. July is when you start to clench your teeth and pray to your baseball Gods for your team to perhaps, surge ahead and take it all, win it all.

In my case, it’s July with the Cubs. That means the ivy at Wrigley is a deep green, the summers are hot and sticky when it’s not threatening to rain, and while every win is considered a gift bundled in happiness, every loss in July adds a new line of worry. And while you tell yourself that it is only July, time keeps ticking, and you watch the standings in your division as August creeps closer.

We took 3 games from the Brewers at home, took 2 from St. Louis and still somehow managed to slip and be tied for 3rd in the division with Houston. Um..WHAT?! 

It’s July. Where you shake your head in disbelief one week and cheer with great enthusiasm the next because you team suddenly looks better than the rest. Its full of emotions. Maybe Cubs fans should all get on Prozac during the month of July. I’m just kidding..kind of.

Here’s to the middle of the season – where anything can happen come August 1st. And with that I leave this entry with some of the highlights of the July season and my beloved Chicago Cubs.

GO CUBS!

Cubs against St. Louis at home

Cubs fans catching Derrick Lee’s HR against the Brewers at Wrigley.

Awwww Soto & Marmol share a bonding moment…

Cubs photos courtesy of the Chicago Tribune

Eddie Vedder:

http://www.youtube.com/v/CqHTScDBsDU&hl=en&fs=1

Steve Goodman:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrlLmTh32KI

And some others for you die-hard Cubby pals, and for my pal Kevin Henrickson who wrote this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgUZlMM22-s

The outside scoreboard. The screen that always says “Cubs Welcome” on it and whoever the Cubs are playing is displayed underneath. The same sign that gives you the score as you drive by the stadium if you aren’t lucky enough to be inside. The same sign that kindly and unwillingly congratulated the 2005 White Sox after they won the WS, because the northsiders are not sore losers. The same sign, that will some day, SOME DAY bost the beautiful words “CUBS WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS,” but for now, a picture of the Cubs sign with my name on it, a gift given to me by a pal at the corporate office. And no, that isn’t photoshopped…it’s the real deal.

The Bleachers. Need I say more? The bleachers are the biggest party scene in the city. They bleed tradition and gave birth to the trademark name “bleacher bum,” of which anyone would be proud to be called. The bleachers are home of the invention other ballparks have copied  – the infamous opposing team HR ball return. Anytime and everytime an HR is hit by another team, a bleachers fan is expected to throw the ball back onto the field. This is a time-honored tradition, which hasn’t been broken, and has indeed been copied by other ballparks. It’s a sign to the other team that we care more about the Cubs than a HR ball for a keepsake. The bleachers are an entirely different experience at Wrigleyfield than sitting in one of the regular seats. You can meet your future spouse in the bleachers, make a life-long friend, or sit next to a 90 year old woman with her scorecard who will reminisce with you over an icy cold beer over the days when a ticket was just a quarter. You can cool yourself on a hot summer day in the 7th inning with the spray from the gigantic hose that helps cool the crowd. You can heckle the other team to see just how razzled you can make the outfielders, and taunt the other bleacher fans by seeing who is loudest. The bleachers are home to having one of the greatest views of Wrigleyfield. There is simply nothing better than watching the Cubs hit a grand slam against the White Sox, while you are sitting in the bleachers, and you see that beautiful baseball hurling out over your head, past the bleachers onto Addison, causing your team to win the game and a celebration that will last well into the early hours. The bleacher seats bring chills when you face the flag during the national anthem, and that old school mentality when you look up at the manually operated scoreboard and kick your feet that lay dangling over one of the cement stairs that you are sitting on because the bleachers are first come first serve. The Wrigleyfield bleachers is one of the best experiences you can have in Chicago, if you haven’t experienced it you are missing out.

The Scoreboard.  One of the only manually operated scoreboards left in MLB. It’s the true essence of what Wrigleyfield has always been, a pure ballpark with out all of the bells and whistles. I’ve heard it gets really hot back there, where 2 people change the score during the Cubs game for all of the teams in the National and American League that are playing at the same time. Often times the crowd will cheer when they see the final score of another game that may have helped the Cubs advance in the standings. It’s traditions like the manually operated green scoreboard that make Wrigleyfield so unique and special.

 The Vendors. Not just another pretty vendor face, most of the vendors that work during the season are true veterans, that have been working at the field for years, sometimes decades. Vendors sell pretty much anything, and will actually go and get you something if you are nice enough. You know you are a die-hard fan when you give your vendors a hug at every game and know everything about their family. I personally have seen the same vendors every season, and they know that I sneak in a flask of Captain Morgan and always order a diet coke to mix it with in my seat. They know that I run out of the flask around the 4th inning and generally take a break from drinking. They know when I hug them goodbye at the last home game of the regular season and I consider them my second family. The vendors are all die-hard fans that consider Wrigleyfield a home away from home.

The Budweiser Roof. You don’t have to have ever been to the ballpark to recognize this. It’s the red Budweiser covered rooftop that has been around for what seems like forever. It’s been in many movies, including “About Last Night,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “The Break-Up,” to name a few. Any MLB fan knows when they see that roof in any picture that it’s Wrigleyfield in the back-drop.

The Bars. Do I really need to say more? Of course. The neighborhood bars that surround Wrigleyfield are the reason why pre & post-game parties are some of the greatest times a fan can possibly have. There are nearly 2 dozen bars with in a 2 block radius of the park, but the ones that align the same streets as Wrigleyfield each have their own personality and crowd. The most popular places that people talk about, and flock to when they visit the windy city are Cubby Bear, Sluggers and Murphy’s Bleachers.

The Cubby Bear, a bar I bartended at in 1998 has 3 floors, great bar food, and a history of being known for the hook-up scene post-game. If you ever visit ask the manager about the photobooth that used to be near the basement bathrooms. A lot went down in there after a game. Cubby Bear is so serious about the Cubs that they even fly in girls from Sweden to work the season, and as a former employee I made more money than I ever thought possible in one season. Go there and ask an employee about Mike, the former manager who had twins during the 99′ season and named them “Clark” and “Addison” after the street corners that Wrigleyfield sits on. Now that’s a true fan.

Sluggers has been around since the beginning of time it seems. It boasts an upstairs game room and batting cage and stripper pole, that seem to be more fun post-game. Go figure. The same managers of Sluggers still exist, and they keep around the same, friendly staff each season. If you go there ask for Zack the manager, or David the famous bartender. They’ll make you do a shot of whiskey chased with pineapple juice. It’s tradition.

Then there’s Murphy’s Bleachers, outside of the entrance to the bleacher seats. It’s small, loud and fantastic, and pre-game it’s one of the best places to people watch as the line to get into the bleachers increases. This bar is home to corporate outings to games, where inappropriateness is bound to show up among your colleagues. Hey – Vegas isn’t the only place that can boast that saying. What happens at a Cubs game…well it stays at a Cubs game.

CUBBY BEAR

SLUGGERS

MURPHY’S BLEACHERS

The Old-Time Cubs Band. They’re old. They wear Cubs uniforms, and they play good time music pre-game right outside the entrance to the park and then through out the entire game in different sections. They aren’t loud enough to be annoying, and friendly enough to put a smile on your face, even if the Cubs happen to be losing. A game at Wrigley would be lost with out the band.

Eamus Catuli Sign. It’s beneath one of the rooftops that boasts letters and numbers. The Lakeview Baseball Club is home to the famous Eamus Catuli sign. (Eamus Catuli is latin for Let’s go Whelps… but essentially means, Go Cubs!). The other sign (in this picture as AC0063100) stands for Ano Catuli 00 63 100. Ano Catuli means, “In the year of the Cub” the first two digits are how long it’s been since the Cubs won a division title. The second set of two digits are for how long it’s been since the Cubs won the NL Pennant, and the final numbers (now three digits) are for how long it’s been since the Cubs won the World Series. Some day that number will be a zero at the end. Some day.

The ivy. The only ballpark in the world that has the ivy. What makes it special? How it changes. You can always tell how early or late in the baseball season it is just by the color of the ivy. In the spring the ivy is barely green, still recovering from the Chicago winter of ice and wind. In the middle of the season it’s a bright green, lush and glowing in the sun. In late season it turns a dark green, and if we’re lucky enough to see it in post-season it boasts beautiful Fall colors of oranges and reds – the best colors a fan can see.

The Rooftops. One of the priciest tickets in town, a rooftop game includes all you can eat and drink (including these amazing soft chocolate chip cookies) premiere seat where you can view the entire game with a personal waitress to make you drinks and food whenever your tummy growls. The Rooftops are mostly owned by the bar owners, including Cubby Bear, which owns two rooftops and sells them out every season. If you’ve got the dough and want to have a completely personalized Cubs game experience, rent out a rooftop and invite your closest friends. They’ll never forget the experience.

The Miller Lite Billboard. It’s brilliant. Every series boasts a new billboard, sitting high above the bleachers next to the rooftops. The billboard boasts a saying that represents whoever the Cubs are playing or the standings at the time. I dated a guy once who actually had a poster that showed every single billboard up until 2005. I’d love to get my hands on that. Maybe he’s still single? Ha.

Not a New York state of mind, this billboard showed up in the Mets series at home in 2007.

Post-season. If only it would treat us well just once.

                                  Can you guess what team we were playing?

A dig at the sausage races held at Miller Park. This billboard displayed during the Brewers series.

To make it worse, the usual anti-Cub fans post comments to my facebook page about how I should be used to this madness by now. Whatever. The Cubs are like Chicago weather. You never ever know what you are going to get, and that is an under-statement. So I consult with my friends back in Chicago, what the hell is going on? Is it good that we aren’t so cocky this season and so ahead at this point in the season so we don’t repeat last year? I’ve never been stunted like this with the Cubs. I’m ********** but I have no idea what to think about the road ahead.

Then, when all else fails - it happens. June 18th, last game in the series against the White Sox at home. The Cubs do this once or twice per season, sometimes more if we’re lucky. Any die-hard fan can relate. It’s this beautiful, 9th inning, 2 outs, 2 strikes against your team moment, when an RBI or HR occurs that defines moments in baseball where you truly understand why you love the game, why you love your team. Soriano hits an RBI to center field to get Reed Johnson home in the 9th inning against our biggest rival White Sox to win the game 6-5. And instantly my faith is restored. It’s the magical moments we forget about, the experiences and games where the Cubs bring you unbelievable happiness – when anything is possible.

I know our standings. (Yes Brewers fans back in WIS, I am fully aware of where you stand in the Central Division, you do NOT have to remind me). I know it’s only June…well middle of June. And I know anything, and everything can change in baseball, with one injury, with one series..anything. I’m still taking this season game by game, series by series. And I will continue to take the abuse from the LA natives, and numerous anti-Cubs fans who just don’t understand believing in a team no matter what. They can piss me off, but I will always believe in them. GO CUBS!

In June of 2008, I was watching the Cubs during the 7th inning on WGN, and it was a pretty hot day southern Cali, and the Cubs were winning at home. I remember exactly what I was doing when it happened. I got up to make some iced tea and I hear Len say, “we want to give a special shout out to a huge Cubs fan in Marina Del Rey, Jessica Nelson who is watching the Cubs right now out in California.” I literally almost dropped my iced tea and wanted to smack myself in the head for not DVRing the game to play it back. My phone immediately rang..first it was my Dad back in WIS, who said “holy crap did they just give you a shout out?!” My Dad, an attorney who’s law firm has MLB for a client and who used to have Bud Selig as an active partner in the firm, was shocked. My Dad’s dream was to be a broadcaster, and like him I share that dream of just being able to do it once. Unfortunately I tried out for ESPN in 2003 with Stuart Scott (ok I didn’t TRY out but I was in the booth at the NFL Experience at 6am and did a mini-try out) and I was told to either not be so hungover for it or not to quit my day job. Ha. At any rate I di-gress. My Dad was impressed with the shout out..and so was I, not to have bragging rights to my friends, but because it was an effort made by my good friend Brian in the Cubs office to have them give me a shout out because he KNEW I’d be watching, and he knew that I missed the Cubs terribly. He didn’t even make sure I’d be watching that day, he simply knew. Next came a few phone calls from back in Chitown who were watching the game who couldn’t believe it. Then came the call from my friend Brian from the Cubs..and I was so thankful and appreciative, because it showed me that the Cubs do care about their fans. In that very moment I felt close to Len and Bob – now I know they give shout outs all the time, but it made ME feel special.

And so as I sit here on Mother’s Day, I am feeling a tad homesick, and the familiar voice of Len and Bob is making me feel at peace and some pure enjoyment on a lazy Sunday afternoon. With out them I would have no connection to the Cubs. There’s something that could be said about watching baseball in the summer on TV, and hearing the announcers make the play by plays and comment on various player stats, injuries and performances. It’s what makes baseball…baseball. There’s a certain ambience and feeling when you are listening to these guys…it really defines what baseball is all about. With out the broadcasters, baseball wouldn’t be baseball.

Look at Haray Caray – he’s a legend, and he always will be. And look at Ron Santo, although he tends to miss some plays on the radio or gets behind (sorry Ron), you still have to love him, and identify with him. He keeps us connected..they all do. I remember Chip and Steve with fondness, and honestly am still sad that they both left several years ago. Steve Stone loved the city of Chicago from what I could tell, and I am a pretty firm believer that Len and Bob truly enjoy the Cubs, Chicago and the fans.

It’s days like these where I’m thankful for you both, Len and Bob who just made me feel like I was able to watch my Cubbies in person, and am supporting them and feeling every play. Oh, and they WON. GO CUBS!

Thank you Len and Bob!

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.