From the Windup: Cubs Fan, Chapter 100

From the Windup is FanHouse's daily, extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

A few weeks ago I was approaching a football field, en route to officiating a middle school football game. As I walked through the parking lot, I noticed an older gentleman kneeling down to pick up his keys. Only he was struggling. Every time he'd pick up his keys, he'd drop his sunglasses. Every time he'd pick up his sunglasses, he'd drop his keys, and so on. I noticed about ten people just walk by him without saying a word or even giving him a second look. There was a car waiting on him to clear the way, and the people sitting inside were visibly annoyed with the poor guy. I went over and helped him to his feet, and then leaned over and got his keys and sunglasses for him. It wasn't that I thought I was some sort of hero. I just don't understand why so many people didn't care to help.

He was thankful, but most of all you could tell he was disgusted with himself for needing my help. He did need it, he just didn't want it. I'm glad I was there, because most people couldn't have cared less.

It's just the way things are now, I guess. People get on the internet and harass other people anonymously. High school dropouts call incredibly educated public figures "stupid." Fans get personal with game officials from afar, but never say a word when they meet one of them face to face. Parents blame every flaw in their children on teachers and coaches without ever taking a second to actually be a parent. People are pretty tough cussing each other out through a car window, as they speed away from a person they'll never see again. And on and on the list goes.

It's quite a juvenile way of phrasing it, but we are really mean to each other these days ... with no conscience or remorse.

All you have to do is put the entire Cubs postseason appearance -- if you can even call it that -- into this context.

Consider:
- There are tons of egocentric Cubs fans who treat other people like the absolute dregs of society when they visit Wrigley Field. They get hammered, cuss up a storm in front of children, heckle opposing players with personal shots unnecessarily, destroy Kosuke Fukudome in a freaking airport, and make up phony stories about curses to justify their team's futility.

- Other fan bases, in turn, are very ugly with all Cubs fans ... overgeneralizing us all as "idiots" and "jerks" who "know nothing about baseball." We go to their ballparks and get fights picked with us for doing nothing other than wearing blue.

- The Cubs players don't perform the way they should, and they are showered with criticism from fans who probably never played at a level above little league. I understand they are all way more wealthy than we'll ever be, but they are human beings, too. I guarantee the overwhelming majority of them badly wanted to win for us fans. I thought the booing in Game 2 was especially ugly. The players knew they were drastically falling short, and the piling on was both unnecessary and embarrassing.

- The media loves to go on this crusade. Colin Cowherd perpetuated the "Cubs fans are stupid, White Sox fans are true baseball fans" crap this past week on his radio show. Skip Bayless, before the season started, smugly proclaimed that Cubs fans secretly don't want the team to win. You see, he "knows these people" because he wrote in Chicago for a few years. These are just two examples of an enveloping epidemic among guys like this ... they just want to get the people buzzing, and bashing Cubs fans works because there are so many. And so many do fit the bill.

On the other hand, so many don't. There are millions of true Cubs fans. I have the pleasure of working with one (Eamonn Brennan). I have the pleasure of having about twenty friends who qualify as well. I also have the pleasure of being family to some of the very best, most loyal, and most knowledgeable fans around. My grandfather is in his mid-eighties, and watched every inning this year. I began to cry Saturday night as the game wound down because I started to consider the realistic possibility that he is never going to see the Cubs win it all. He's never cussed anyone out in Wrigley. He's never talked smack about other fan bases. Really, his only mistake I can remember off the top of my head is tying his entire family tree to the Cubs. I say that half in jest, but half serious.

I have a cousin that could name the entire 25-man roster when he was eight. My father, brother, and I have attended about 100 games together, starting when my little brother was only two. My retired uncle spends much of his free time searching for Cubs articles on the internet, when he's not watching games. Even my mother and wife have begun torturing themselves in following the Cubs, just because they see how much it means to my family and I. I hope I didn't slight anyone in my family, because the list doesn't end there.

I sat there in the stands in the late innings of Game 1 unable to concentrate on the action. The reason? I was staring at the ground in front of me, wondering how I could possibly be a good parent to my two year-old son when I dress him in Cubs gear any chance I get. Do I really want to do this to him? I know how I felt this past series, and I never want him to feel that kind of hurt. The flip-side is that I know what being a Cubs fan will mean to him, because it means so much to me ... so I guess I have to nudge him in that direction.

Do I tell you this because I think I'm special or unique? No. The exact opposite, actually. Tens of thousands of people -- at least -- could slap two very similar paragraphs together without even blinking. I actually encourage those of you reading with personal stories of being a Cubs fan to post them in the comments section.

Just remember that when you non-Cubs fans are sitting there on your computer, typing in a little "hahahahaha, you guyz are all losers!!!!!!" message: This isn't a joke to many of us. Feel free to think it's pathetic, because we don't care. We know we are pathetic, but we're never going to change.

To suggest that we don't care if the team wins, or even go as far as to accuse us of not wanting the team to win, though? I take serious offense to the implication that I like pity so much I root for a team that won't win the World Series.

So what do I want?

Just picture us true Cubs fans collectively as the struggling older guy from the intro of this blog entry. We're disoriented right now, trying to pick up our keys and find a way back to our feet. I'm not even asking you to help us up, because we, as I just said, don't want your pity ... I'm just asking you to not mock and ridicule us as you walk by. Just ignore us and move on, counting your blessings that you haven't been afflicted with what we have.

Personally, I'll be trying to make it back to my figurative feet this entire postseason. I'll do my job and report on the playoffs for FanHouse, and I won't be mentioning the Cubs again. It wouldn't be healthy -- or professional, considering they aren't playing anymore. I will, however, begin talking about the Cubs optimistically when the hot stove league heats up in the offseason. Just as I've done every year since I can remember, I'll be hoping this time around the Cubs find the magical pieces that propel them to the World Series championship I so desperately need them to win.

"There's always next year."

We must live by that motto. It is the only way to continue as a fan.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

10-07-2008 @ 5:31PM

William Deisroth said...

I live in Northeast Pennsylvania among Phiiily fans but am a Red Sox fan for my grand sons who live in Wayland. I pick up many keys for men or ladies who need help and often wonder about the impashioness of the people in the car behind me. Thanks for your thoughts

10-06-2008 @ 12:06PM

MarlinsFan! said...

I think your story hit the nail on the head about people just being mean. Especially on the internet where it can be done anonymously. In person, it's quite the difference, when one knows they can have their asses kicked for half of what they say on the internet! I was a Cubs fans before we even had the Marlins. Now of course I root for the home team- but still have love for the Cubs. I go to the Marlins' games (yeah I'm the one fan there!) but I have to tell you that the "True Cubs Fans" in the stands are the WORST I've ever seen, and that includes NYC, Boston and Philly fans... They are rude, drunk and violent. I will never forget the series the Cubs played here against the Marlins, shortly after the All-Star game, you would not believe the things being said by the Cubs' fans to Dan Uggla. (granted he had an awful Allstar Game) but they were making threats to him, his wife and his baby, because they were blaming his errors in the game, for the Cubs not being to have home-field advantage for the World Series... YOU GOTTA GET THERE FIRST! I was ashamed to have ever rooted for the Cubs after seeing this kind of behavior. The Cubs fans deserve the agony they feel... It's called KARMA.

10-06-2008 @ 12:14PM

Gary said...

Hey Matt,
I followed your link here from CCO. The story about your grandfather is stirring, but typical for millions of other Cub fans. I watched my terminally ill father, will himself to live through the 03 season to finally witness a Cub's World Series, only to have his heart broken for one final time. His breaking heart completely crushed mine. His story is sad but no sadder than the other millions of fans who were born and have died without seeing a winner. That angst of un-rewarded loyalty gets passed forward from generation to generation, and without the relief valve of a winner, the pressure cooker continues to build for us fans.
What you saw this last postseason, is the lifetimes of disappointment, manifesting itself into an intolerance of failure. I take issue with your insistence that fans who boo players that already feel bad, are not true fans. Any player who accepts a contract to play for the Cubs, knows what goes along with that. It's the chance to "be the one" and bask in a glory, few players will ever know. The flip side of that? The fans wrath for failure, compounded by the ghosts of those who have failed before them. An unfair burden to bear? For sure, but before I shed a tear for them I consider the millions of reasons to console themselves.
As the players' payers of salary, fans have a right and an obligation to show displeasure for poor performance by the only venue afforded to us. Booing.

10-06-2008 @ 12:49PM

Doug said...

As a Cub fan, I must say that obnoxious behaviour is embarassing to those of us who watch the game to have a good time, without the acrimonious taunting and gutter comments made by many of the "fans", most of whom have been way overserved. They're the ones who pee on parked cars et al while leaving the ballpark, they're the ones who hoot it up on the trains and buses after the game which some people find somewhat frightening. The era of being polite has long passed, unfortunately. The Internet provides a place where these folks can spew their hatred in complete anonymity. As for the Cubs themselves, I totally agree that every player on the roster wanted to win it all for their fans, their families and for themselves, and no one was more dissapointed than they were. Being swept in the first round two years in a row hurts, cursing the players won't change that.

10-06-2008 @ 1:18PM

die hard said...

my son is 24 years old, and he is THIRD generation fan waitng for a world series. my mother says that she will put a cub flag on my father's grave to let him know that they won. Ijust hope my wife doesn't have to do that for me. sign me waiting with no cursing.

10-06-2008 @ 1:23PM

roguesqr09 said...

I loved this article! It couldn't be more 'on the money'. I'm only commenting as requested by Matt. I too grew up a Cubs fan, was born into it is more accurate. My father, grandfather (dad's side), his father, grandmother (mom's side), sister and best friend are all die hard cubs fans and wouldn't have it any other way. I grew up in a small town located in the middle of Indiana towards the Ohio state line. Everyone, and I do mean everyone in my town were Reds fans, save one of my best friends. Year in and year out we heard about the Cubs and how bad they were. It was non-stop. I did switch allegiances after the Palmero trade, because my mother was a huge fan of his, to the Reds, but regretted it for the entire summer. It just didn't feel the same. So since then I have been living and dying with the cubs. This post season defeat was definately heartbreaking, but there has not been a doubt that I will be cheering on the boys in blue, win or lose, come the spring. GO CUBS!!!!

10-06-2008 @ 1:27PM

zomgMatt said...

Most people hate Cubs fans because of their drunken, idiot fans. They show up in our ballparks and act like dicks. They are a-holes to those of us who go to Wrigley. Yeah, there are plenty of great Cubs fans who aren't a bunch of drunken frat boys, but they seem to be fairly rare.

But the real reason we can't stand Cubs fans is because of articles like this one.

It's lines like this that anger us:

"Just remember that when you non-Cubs fans are sitting there on your computer, typing in a little "hahahahaha, you guyz are all losers!!!!!!" message: This isn't a joke to many of us. Feel free to think it's pathetic, because we don't care. We know we are pathetic, but we're never going to change. "

We're not ridiculing you because you root for a team that lost - most of us root for teams that lost. We're ridiculing you for the way Cubs fans trumpeted this team all year, acting as if they were going to make the World Series since June. That hubris pissed us off.

What's REALLY galling though, is your response after your loss. You moan and groan about how the Cubs never get it done and how this team ALWAYS lets you down. You act as if you have some sort of monopoly on pain and heartache as fans.

Well, guess what? A lot of us like teams that haven't done much in the postseason. My team has NEVER won a World Series. But you don't see Astros fans moping about and complaining about how the team seems so star-crossed. Yeah, we've seen really good teams fail in the postseason - teams even better than this year's Cubs. The '98 Astros broke my heart, but I didn't go on the internet and act like I was the only fan to ever face a loss. Get over yourselves. You lack all perspective on this stuff.

"Just ignore us and move on, counting your blessings that you haven't been afflicted with what we have. "

See, it's that crap. We all have been afflicted with this, and it's ridiculous to think that Cubs fans are any different. Shut up about it.

10-06-2008 @ 1:29PM

JESSI said...

SOME PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET ARENT REALLY MEAN..THEY ARE COWARDS.THEY DO SAY THINGS THEY DONT HAVE THE B---S,TO SAY OUT IN THE PUBLIC,BUT,DUHH,OF COURSE ,THEY SAY, THEY WILL ..YEA RIGHT.....BUT WHAT COULD PISS OFF A CUBS FAN,IS, A SORIANO,TELLING FANS TO BE PATIENT,AND HE GETS ONE MEASLEY HIT IN THE PLAYOFFS,ONE..THAT DOESNT HELP THINGS...ITS CALLED TALKING THE TALK,AND NOTHING MORE..HOW COULD CUBS FANS,NOT GET MAD....I WOULD

10-06-2008 @ 4:12PM

ryan said...

to all who complain about drunken cubs fans that are idiots and just act like hooligans and boo and yell at players at the park. i have been to 14 teams ballparks including wrigley and everyone of the ball parks has always had a good amount of drunken fans that act like idiots once they hit the sauce. its not just cubs fans, its not just wrigley. i went to a white sox games where 10 mid thirty year old men forced a 12 yr old boy to take his cubs hat off, even though he was in a little league uniform and his team happened to be the cubs. i sat next to him and he was a sox fan and the father and myself had beer tossed at us for protecting him. and i am a die hard cubs fan. some reds fans personally tried to sabotage and get some astros fans tossed from their park when i went their to see reds vs astros. and they did it just cuz there were 8 astros fans in their park. that happens everywhere so dont talk like it is just us cubs fans. i even saw it at a marlins home game and they only get like 2000 fans a game. so please stop making those comments. you dont know all cubs fans. and its not the majority of any teams fans that are like that. the drunken idiots are just loud and easy to spot. i am a cubs fan and when they suck or blow it, i dont boo. i am angry and mad but i dont boo. and i never wish ill for other teams just cuz i am a cubs fan. i hope the white sox win it all, the more championships in chicago the better for me cuz i live here. dont stereotype all cubs fans cuz of 1000 idiots out of 42000.

10-06-2008 @ 5:52PM

Lizzy said...

I live in Chicago, was born and raised and remain a staunch White Sox fan, however whenever a CHICAGO TEAM does well I root for them. The past week was a strange sitch, as strange as I've ever experienced anyways sports-wise. BOTH the baseball teams in the playoffs at the sametime. Weird. It was painful to see the Cubs lose three straight, just as it was to see the White Sox lose two in a row. However I'm reminded of the 2005 post season and being on the Northside. You see I used to live right down the street from Wrigley Field so I still have friends up there that I visit often. Myself and then husband were in a take out place, he was wearing his White Sox hat when this guy in his Cubs hat came in off the street, swaggering and pointing at him, swearing and calling him names and demanding we leave the Northside because us loser Sox fans weren't wanted there. He got thrown out of the place, thankfully, and I'm aware that he is not a normal Cubs fan and I know there are Sox fans that are the same. However I wish that this had been the first time I'd had this happen to me, or witnessed it happen. Cubs fans are unduly rude and arrogant, and I can't understand why. Look who won the World Series last, and did it with style and panache.
It's good that I have friends who are Cubs fans, because otherwise I may not feel so kindly towards them. I feel for them, it's gotta be painful for your team to play that darned great all season to freeze when it counted. I sometimes do believe in that bloody curse!

10-06-2008 @ 6:38PM

THE FLASH said...

IF YOU A CUB FAN , PLAYER , OR OWNER,,, IT MUST BE HARD WHEN THERE ISNT ONE PERSON IN THE STANDS THAT WAS ALIVE WHEN YOU LAST WON THE WORLD-SERIES.... SEROUSLY THINK ABOUT THAT..... SO WITH SAYING THAT THE TEAM WAS BUILT TO WIN AND " WIN " IT DID ALL SEASON FOR 162 GAMES. THE CUBBIES WILL BUY THE REST OF THE PIECES AND THE HOPE HERE IS THEY WILL HV SOLD THE TEAM TO ITS NEW OWNERS WITH A " T.O.N. " OF NEW MONEY TO HELP THEM GET TO THE PROMISE LAND... YES IM A YANKEE FAN AND YES WE AINT GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES NEXT YEAR. SO FOR NOW THE " FIGHTIN " PHILLIES AND THE CUBBIES WILL BE MY TEAM FOR THE NEXT B/B SEASON TO WIN IT ALL UNLESS " THE BUMS " DONT WIN IT THEN ILL HV THREE TEAMS TO ROOT FOR IN THE N.L. RACES.......THE FLASH OF N.J.......

10-14-2008 @ 6:54PM

John said...

I was a diehard Cubs fan since 1960. Remember THOSE futile years?? If they finished 7th in the eight team NL,it was a great year.Through the mid-60's,they battled for last place with the newly added,New Yotks Mets and Houston Colt 45's(later the Astros) Beginging in 1967,they began to show signs of credibility and it was easier to openly proclaim being a Cubs fan. 1984,what a high ater mark,followed by additional successful years. Ahhhhh,,2003,the year they were FINALLY going to World Series! Not to be. When the final out was made,I made the statement, "I'll never watch another Cubs game,as long as I live". My step-daughter,a diehard fan called me a fair-weather fan! No need to fill her in on 60's style Cubs baseball,no time. I kept my word,occasionally seeing a game,flipping channels.Not looking at standings, no concern. Around June my son began mentioning,"Cubs won again today,..Cubs are in first place still".etc. I began to take notice but,still,not dragged into Cub-crazed delight. I was pulling for them because, I knew what a thrill it would be for those Cubs fans I love. I could go on but,I won't. Just wait till next year for another chapter in Cubs Heart-break,the next 100 years.

10-06-2008 @ 9:16PM

Daniel said...

97-64..............divisional champs...............swept by a team who clinched their division no thanks to themselves but thanks to a D-Backs loss......what a terrible season the Cubs had. If they don't fix their hilarously bad defense, it is obvious that there will be a "chapter 101" - meaning no October. What's even sad is that I'm sure there are 80-90 year old Cub fans who after all these years still haven't felt what victory feels like. I can't wait to see the look on Steve Bartman's face now.

10-06-2008 @ 10:18PM

John Underdown said...

I enjoyed the comments from the astro fan. There are a lot of non-cub fans that seem to enjoy telling us to get over it, stop whining,ect. I have to admit my heart has been broken too many times to remember. I've spent the past couple of days asking myself why I feel so crushed, after all, if the cubs had won it all, what would I (myself) have really accomplished? Bragging rights? (not in this century) More money? (HA HA) and so on. So why does this mean so much to me? Well, it's simple, I love the Cubs, and I love being a CUBS FAN. Anyone that has been to a professional sporting event knows that there are always going to be some that show bad manners...even golf!!!
To me it's human nature to want to win, some just take losing a little easier than others.
I always chuckle when I hear someone blasting a cub fan (the greatest fans of any sport) because they try to sound as if they take losing better than we do.
As for the Astros, they got a tough break when the storm came to their city, they were on a hot streak at the time and it seemed to just kill it. Z's no-hitter will always have a stigma because of it. But if I remember correctly, there was a lot of complaining about the situation. No offense but no one likes losing!!!!!

10-07-2008 @ 7:18AM

Chris said...

zomgMatt, you're exactly right in accusing Cubs fans of being annoyingly self-pitying. But what Astros fans don't have to deal with is mockery from millions of people nationwide when their team inevitably loses. That's why Cubs fans have lost all perspective on losing, because it's been branded on them as their definitive identity, whether they want it or not.

10-07-2008 @ 9:12AM

DJ Andrews said...

I'm not a Cub's fan, not that I root against them it's just that, like most folks over the age of forty, I came of age in the pre-cable, pre-internet, pre-satellite, pre-ESPN era when the only team you could actually watch on TV or listen to on the radio was whichever team was considered to be in your "home-market". You really touched on something when you spoke of your family and how rooting for the Cubs transcended baseball. For me, and for a lot of other guys I'm sure, baseball played a big part of the whole father-son experience. I still remember when, for the first time, I was welcomed as a part of "the regulars" (my dad and a few of the neighbors) while they watched a game. To be a seven or eight-year-old kid and to become one of "the regulars" was one of my fondest childhood memories. My father and I were always polar-opposites, we never really got along that well except when it came to fishing, baseball and football. I'm sure plenty of people will view that as pathetic but it's part of the reason that, when he passed away a few years ago, I had no regrets over our relationship. When I graduated high school I vowed to never say no whenever he asked me to go fishing or to a game. And I never did. So when you spoke of your grandfather I felt for you. We were lucky enough to see our team win it all a few years back and to be able to share that with my dad and the rest of "the regulars" is a memory I literally wouldn't trade for a million dollars.

10-12-2008 @ 11:37AM

Leo Swigonski said...

Someone tell poor Stevie Bartman he can come out of the cellar now. With Halloween coming, maybe he'll dress up and go 'trick-n-treat' as a goat...can't blame him this time.