Is it just me, or are other Cubs fans fed up with the unjustified Cub bashing that seems to run rampant among almost anyone who doesn’t cheer for the Cubs- rival or not? It's something you hear almost every day, but the fill-in for Matt and Miller (some dull Hawk fan) set me off today. He somehow managed to turn a discussion about Buehrle’s perfect game into a discussion about how the Cubs don’t have anyone on the staff capable of matching this feat. Never mind the fact that Carlos Zambrano pitched a no-hitter (with just 1 BB) less than a year ago. It was simply a desperate, pathetic, uninformed attempt to find a way to pick on the Cubs.
And it’s not just the team that people like to pick on. They also enjoy ripping on Cubs fans, as if our fandom is somehow contrived or less credible because we follow a team with a large nationwide following and excellent television coverage. Sometimes we’re ridiculed simply for cheering for a team with such a tragic history (something that boggles this Cyclone fan’s mind). I don’t get it. What drives people to rail on the Cubs so vehemently?
Is it the team’s large following? Is it our undying loyalty through thick and thin? Is it the full ballpark even when the team isn’t performing very well? Is it the fans’ love affair with Wrigley Field, the atmosphere, and the city? Is it the fun times in the bleachers? Is it the pretty girls and the frat boys who make gameday a social outing (as if this is a Wrigley Field phenomenon)? Is it the loyal fans outside of Chicago who fill empty seats and make noise in visitor’s parks? Is it the brotherhood that exists between fans?
WHAT IS IT? To me that sounds like the recipe for a fan following that any athletic organization would kill for. It’s as if people look down on Cubs fans as an inferior form of fan who doesn’t desire winning. I think a commonly held misconception is that we are somehow united through our agony. In my opinion, what unites us is our undying hope that the Cubs will win it all again someday, and when that day comes it will be one of the happiest days we've ever experienced. The parallels to Cyclone fandom are too obvious to ignore.
So in response to the bashing that we take from our fellow baseball fans on a daily basis, I want to hear from my Cub brethren. Let's unite and share our stories about how we all became loyal Cubs fans. GO CUBS!
