Let me start by saying that I am really not into pro-sports at all. I don’t follow the MLB news and I haven’t watched a game in decades. I certainly didn’t expect one of my first 5 blog posts to be on the topic of baseball.
But with this “Cubs in the World Series” thing really happening, I’ve just got to weigh in.
Growing up near Chicago, there was an unwritten rule that everyone understood: The Cubs never win the World Series.
It was basically an accepted fact that the team was cosmically barred from ever ending a season on top. They were the good guys who couldn’t catch a break.
Long ago, I most definitely WAS a baseball person–a true blue fan of the Cubbies. Between playing softball for years and having a sport’s fan Dad who was big into collecting baseball cards and other collectibles, it was a very familiar territory. All my superfan energy was directed straight towards the dreamy Ryne Sandberg. <3
It didn’t matter than they weren’t the champs. What mattered was that the Cubs were a good-hearted team and their fans were perpetually loyal. Going to a game at Wrigley was to experience the joy of the love of the game.
Fast forward to now, 2016–>Not only are the Cubs IN THE WORLD SERIES, but they also look to have a very, very good chance of winning.
This is a good and happy thing, but also causes some pause. I mean, if the Cubs can win this, what other constants that we’ve taken for granted have been wrong all along? It’s going to take a real perspective shift to regain some balance in this world after the season is over.
In the end, I am so ready for them to just win it all so that all the die-hard Cubs fans can get in a big celebration and then we can drop the goat talk once and for all.
Although when they do, it’s going to be like a shift in the universe as I’ve always known it…
So, go do your thang and win this, Cubs!
In the spirit of things I HAVE to share this song.
Back when my daughter was little we discovered Ralph’s World at a small show in a local bookshop near where we lived. It was great fun, and over the years we acquired each and every album. My daughter is 12 now, and she still loves these songs. If you have little ones and want some music for them that is actually fun to listen to and not annoying, I can’t recommend Ralph’s World enough! We’ve sung them all at the top of our lungs over the years in the car, at home, etc.
But back to baseball…
This song was on one of the albums and, being a Cubs fan, I fell in love. It’s so totally the spirit of the team and their fans <3
Lyrics:
In Little League I played right field
‘Cause no-one my age could hit the ball there
And my best friend led the team in hits
And I was lucky if I got to bat
Hitless through my childhood years
My baseball dreams all disappeared, but…
I always wished that I could be a Cubby
Wrigley Field, summer afternoon
In the top of the ninth I’d catch a long fly
To save the game like I could never do
And maybe someday I can be a Cubby
Even only for a day or two
I’ll sit on the bench, ‘cause that’s where I play the best
But my heart will be beating Cubby blue
image: http://static.urx.io/units/web/urx-unit-loader.gif
But I always wished that I could be a Cubby
Wrigley Field, summer afternoon
From the bleachers to the stands
Every woman child and man
Will stand and sing with voices loud and true
And maybe someday we can watch the Cubbies
Win the World Series once again
Bases loaded in the ninth, I’ll step up to the plate
And hit the ball to Waveland Avenue
To win one for the Cubby blue