I think that Cubs loss last night really affected people, judging by my bulging e-mail box. Here's one from "AS."
I want to rant, too. May I? Thanks so much.
You know what? You’re right.
And as I look at the top of the standings and see my childhood favorite sitting there, it’s like even MORE taunting from Beelzebub (who looks a great deal like Bud Selig in my dreams).
I grew up in Wisconsin . I rooted for the Milwaukee Brewers in the AL and the Chicago Cubs in the NL. Everything was nice. It was almost perfect. Well, with the exception of the number of championships I actually saw, which was ONE. The 1982 AL pennant. I actually went to see a World Series game! I don’t remember a lot of it, but I know that I was there (enjoying a great deal of Old Style). I think I have a stub somewhere to prove it. Back in 1982, it didn’t cost half a year’s salary to get a ticket and the Wisconsin drinking age was 18. SCORE!
Then, in 1984, I moved to the “other side” of Lake Michigan to continue school. Without the internet, Brewers news was scarce. It’s so much easier to follow your out-of-town favorites, now. Anyway, I had cable (and thus WGN), so I got to see my NL team. Driving to Chicago for a game wasn’t so bad. I could glance at the standings and see that the Brewers were in the midst of years of basement dwelling suckitude, so they NEVER appeared on national television broadcasts. Once Paul Molitor (my all time favorite player) and Robin Yount left town, I could barely name anyone on the roster.
When Bud Selig got the bright-assed idea to move the Brewers to the National League and into the Cubs’ division, I was faced with a Sophie’s Choice. Pick one, dummy. Bud says you have to. I think lots of southern Wisconsin baseball fans were faced with the same dilemma. It wasn’t difficult to hate the White Sox when the Brewers were in the AL . They’re the WHITE SOX, for chrissakes. They wore ugly uniforms, played in a crappy stadium, and their fans came to Milwaukee and threw beer and peanuts at the locals. My first live baseball game was a Brewers/Sox doubleheader with a two hour rain delay tossed in. I was in sixth grade. I’ve never seen so many drunks in one place in my life. There was even a fight on the field. The Sox wore those hideous, untucked, beer league softball uniforms. I came home after nine hours at the ballpark, reeking of beer and repeating many new colorful phrases that I had learned, thanks to the Sox and Brewers fans screaming at each other. My parents were so pleased.
I didn’t buy this whole “we wanted to establish a rivalry with the Cubs” bullspit that Bud Selig was dishing out when he moved the Brewers, either. What makes more sense? Putting Milwaukee in the AL Central with the Sox, Detroit , Minnesota and Cleveland , or sticking them with the Cubs, St. Louis , Houston , Cincy and Pittsburgh ? The AL Central actually resembles the NFC North (then Central) where there are long time, established, bitter football rivalries between folks in the SAME STATES, Bud. What a doorknob you are.
So, anyway….I didn’t make an immediate choice, but logistic came into play. I moved away from Wisconsin (a move I still question to this day). Which team does my local sports guy talk about now? Cubs. Which team can I see on TV? Cubs. Which team did my little boy (who was born in South Bend ) like and ask to see? Cubs. Which team have I seen in person the past 20 years? Cubs. A natural progression. I had chosen the Cubs without consciously doing so. However, I can never root against the Brewers. When the Cubs play them, I root FOR the Cubs, but never really against the Brewers. I can’t yell at the TV and call them colorful names. I just sit there, watch the game and cheer when the Cubs do something right. It’s weird. I LIKE to hate the opposing team. I like to call their star players “pansy asses,” and the like.
Now, the Brewers are sitting in first place and the Cubs are blowing no hitters and five run leads. I’m in HELL. The Brewers are waving at me, taunting me, saying, “You never stopped being a Packers fan after you left, did you?” Football is different. They play once a week and you can see just about any team you want at any time. There was never a lack of coverage. It was easier to stick with them, even in the Lindy Infante era. Plus, being around Chicago Bears fans in 1985 was OBNOXIOUS, especially to someone who had just left Wisconsin . It kind of cemented my Bear hate for eternity. Plus, my ex was a Bears fan. ‘Nuff said, there.
Sorry to ramble, but I’m pissed. I made a SACRIFICE for these guys! I CHOSE THEM over my other baseball love, and what have I gotten since? Heartache. Steve Garvey and Bartman balls. Sammy Sosa, corked bats and steroid accusations. LaTroy Hawkins, Corey Patterson, Bob Howry and now Kevin Gregg. Dusty Flippin’ Baker. What did I do to deserve this? Oh, and did I mention my spurned team is in FIRST FREAKING PLACE?
Sigh.
