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A litmus test for my heart

This past Sunday's Super Bowl loss by our Chicago Bears proved something that I always knew to be the case.  My heart truly belongs to our beloved Cubbies.  After the Bears game I was dissapointed and really wished that the outcome would have been different.  Had they won I would have been ecstatic and been going bonkers with my friends and family members that I had over at my house to watch the game on my new 50" DLP tv.  When they lost however I was still happy about the season we had just witnessed.  I was happy for Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning.  The Colts are a class act just like Lovie and the Bears, so I couldn't help but be happy for them.  
I am sorry for rambling, but I said all that to say that if that had been the Cubs losing game 7 of the world series I wouldn't be so calm.  When the Cubs lost to the Marlins in '03, I was distraught.  I couldn't believe what had just happened, and I am not ashamed to admit that I shed a couple of tears.  In fact, I hate to admit that I threw a childish temper tantrum.  This might belong in the "Why we are here" diary, but I just wanted to share it with you.  When our Cubs reach the baseball mountain top I will be so happy that words won't begin to describe it.  I will probably tear up again with tears of joy.  I hope that day comes this October.
My heart belongs to you Chicago Cubs.  

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Me too
I was trying to figure out what to say to the guy, and the only thing I could think of was to imagine what I'd want him to say to me if it were the Cubs

so I kept quiet

keeping mediocrity at bay

by flyball on Feb 6, 2007 11:50 AM CST reply actions  

What guy are you talking about?
The dumbest people I know are those who know it all.

by madog93 on Feb 6, 2007 11:53 AM CST up reply actions  

the one
I refer to as "the Bears fan"
keeping mediocrity at bay

by flyball on Feb 6, 2007 11:55 AM CST up reply actions  

i think
a lot of what you're saying rings true in a lot of our hearts but i also think it has to do with the weight on our shoulders and the expectations that go along with it.

For example, because we view "the curse" as a constant weight on our shoulders that the franchise has to overcome and we fear that we may never see a championship like fathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers, etc... we feel more emotionally tied to the thought of getting a championship. i know i for one feel awful that my grandfather never got to see a Cubs championship and if I saw them win one it would be like witnessing it for him.

With the Bears, I love them just as much but there's not as much weight there. There's not a history associated with it or a curse that makes you believe deep down it may never happen.

Similarly along those lines, this years Bears team I think most of us didn't think were as good as Colts and HOPED they'd win. Whereas being up 3-1 on the Marlins I think we all assumed we would win, thus the expectations are different. Feelings are all relative and dependant on the associated expectations with them... for instance a playoff season to a Royals fan means more than a playoff season to a Yankees fan

I, for one, dont necessarily view it as loving the Cubs more than the Bears I just feel more emotional responsibility to it because of the weight it placed on the previous generations of my family

At least that's how i try to rationalize that I love all my teams equally....

by DartmouthCubsFan on Feb 6, 2007 12:25 PM CST reply actions  

I've never been...
... as big a football fan as a baseball fan. The Cubs have always been #1 for me, the Bears a nice fall diversion, and for many years, of course, they sucked.

Sort of like the Cubs, too, in that way. While I was disappointed in the result Sunday, it didn't crush me like the 2003 NLCS, or the 1984 NLCS.

Sigh. Don't get me started. The season's just beginning.

"[BCB] is much better than... well, everything." -- gravedigger, January 21, 2007

by Al Yellon on Feb 6, 2007 1:06 PM CST reply actions  

That sums up...
...my feelings as well.  Nice fall diversion.
PTBNL!

by gravedigger on Feb 6, 2007 1:36 PM CST up reply actions  

College basketball...
is my diversion, but come late February, I awake from my winter non-baseball coma and arise as the Cubs Fan Phoenix.  Hell yeah.  

UZI

"We don't make mistakes here, we just have happy accidents. Everything is possible here. This is your little universe." - Bob Ross

by Ozgreeder on Feb 6, 2007 3:01 PM CST up reply actions  

The Bears game
It's a tough call for me between the two. They both are very important to me. After the game I was crushed. I went out for a walk to try to relax and it really didn't help.

In time I'll be ok, but for now it's still frustrating.

AC 00 00 00 - BELIEVE

by mike @ Bleed Cubbie Blue on Feb 6, 2007 1:33 PM CST reply actions  

hey madog...
...how about your face as a litmus test for my fist?

(you are in smack talk league right? If not, then ignore this)

PINIELLA!

by theprognosticator on Feb 6, 2007 2:30 PM CST reply actions  

No I'm not in the smack talk league,
but if I were you would break your little girly fist on my steel jaw.  
The dumbest people I know are those who know it all.

by madog93 on Feb 6, 2007 5:12 PM CST up reply actions  

bring your pretty face to my fist...
...we shall see who is left standing.

BTW, many of the women that post here will take considerable umbrage at your sexist remark about girly fists.

You are now a pariah.  

PINIELLA!

by theprognosticator on Feb 6, 2007 5:38 PM CST up reply actions  

For somebody who like to talk smack...
...you seem to be a little on the sensitive side.  Maybe you should join a new league.

You are now officially "Francis" from stripes.

The dumbest people I know are those who know it all.

by madog93 on Feb 6, 2007 6:57 PM CST up reply actions  

how did I get sensitive?
I was merely commenting on the women who would see girly fist and get upset.

And oooooh are there oodles of them lined up already.

Oh wait. You thought I was actually serious?

You must be new around here.

Welcome, new guy.

PINIELLA!

by theprognosticator on Feb 7, 2007 3:01 AM CST up reply actions  

I'm not worried
So far you are the only one who has commented.  And no, I am not new around here.  I typically read rather than comment.  I have always been nothing but polite to the ladies that post around here, ie cubbiejulie, sparkles, etc.  Hello ladies.

Plus, I'm just talking smack.  You are going to have to stop if you don't know when it is smack and when it is serious.  You started the smack, so I figured anything that followed would be considered smack.

The dumbest people I know are those who know it all.

by madog93 on Feb 7, 2007 5:49 AM CST up reply actions  

I think I would even hate...
people I liked if they beat the Cubs in the World Series.  At least for a week or two.  

My nightmare would be to have the Twins with Johan beating the Cubs in the World Series, especially if it's a close series.

"I don't talk. I just let what I do talk for myself." -Johan Santana

by sparkles721 on Feb 6, 2007 3:46 PM CST reply actions  

Crushing losses
I try not to get worked up about sports losses. Even after the Cubs blew game 6 in 2003 (and I was at the game), I didn't have any trouble sleeping that night. I just told myself, "I don't know any of those players personally, so why should I grieve for them? It's their loss, not mine. Most of them don't even live in Chicago, so why should it reflect badly on the city if they fail? It's just a game. It's meaningless." And like Reggie Jackson once said, there are a billion people in China who don't care. I barely watched game 7 because I knew they'd lose. And they did.

Sure, I get worked up during the games, and that was definitely the case with the Bears on Sunday. I yelled at the TV a few times. But when it was over, I just put it out of my mind.

I just feel bad for my 7-year old son. He told me after the Bears game "I'll never wear my Bears hat again!" He cried himself to sleep. And then my wife and I found a book about the Bears that he'd taken out of his school library the week before. I hadn't realized how into it he was.

"Eighty-five percent of the $#@&$ world's working! The other 15 come out here! A %&$&# playground for the $&&*@!"

by danimal15 on Feb 6, 2007 4:34 PM CST reply actions  

That's sad.
I hope one day I can just push sports stuff out of my mind.  I just can't.  It's so hard especially when I team I like loses or one that I hate wins.

I love some teams way too much to just say "it's meaningless."  It know it is, but I just don't feel that way.

"I don't talk. I just let what I do talk for myself." -Johan Santana

by sparkles721 on Feb 6, 2007 4:50 PM CST up reply actions  

It took me years
To get to this point. I cried in 1984.

The actual quote from Reggie Jackson, by the way, is: "I always remind myself that when I strike out and we lose, there are a billion people in China who don't care."

"Eighty-five percent of the $#@&$ world's working! The other 15 come out here! A %&$&# playground for the $&&*@!"

by danimal15 on Feb 6, 2007 8:34 PM CST up reply actions  

Baseball versus football.
I would sum it up this way.  I love baseball, I love football, I love the Cubs, I love the Bears.  But the difference is, the Cubs are a big part of my life 365 days of the year.  Never does a day go by where I don't think about the Cubs.  Ever.  Football, and the Bears, on the other hand, is not something I think about during baseball season.  The Bears are seasonal, the Cubs are year-round.  

I am a Bears fan and a Bulls fan.  With the Cubs, "fan" is not a strong enough word.  The Cubs are just a part of me, and part of my life. I'm still a little down about the Bears, but it will be forgotten when Spring Training starts.  I'm still not over the 2003 NLCS.  There is a difference between recreation and obsession.  The Cubs are my obsession.

"Don't complain to me about the stormy weather, boys. Just bring the ship into port." --Steve Stone, September 2004

by ctcoff99 on Feb 6, 2007 6:18 PM CST reply actions  

Well said, and yes, ....
I have to agree that the Cubs are year-round, and the Cubs are my obsession as well......... and gosh damnit, you just made me realize that I'm still not over the 2003 NLCS either.

I am so looking forward to the 2007 season. Last year's train wreck damn near killed me.

by deadcatbounce on Feb 6, 2007 7:47 PM CST up reply actions  

Word.
Couldn't have said it better.
"[BCB] is much better than... well, everything." -- gravedigger, January 21, 2007

by Al Yellon on Feb 6, 2007 8:02 PM CST up reply actions  

I concur
I am an obsessed fanatic, and the only cure for my obsession is the Boys in Blue to win a world series.  Please God, let this be the year!
The dumbest people I know are those who know it all.

by madog93 on Feb 6, 2007 8:11 PM CST up reply actions  

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