It was a little stranger than last year for some reason.

people feel sorry for cubs fans. This was supposed to be the grand year, everything was lining up for us, then everything was crushed in 4 days. I wear my cubs hat every day around my college campus and i have actually been given hugs by people i dont even know

I have two extremely cool co-workers, one a Cardinal fan, the other a Met fan, who both came over and patted me on the back and told me they felt for me. There’s quite a melting pot of fans in the DC area, and it helped quite a bit.

Sunday was excruciating, today was miserable, and tomorrow I’m hoping I’m all the way up to “crappy”. My buds joked that they looked up on the roof this morning, half expecting to see me up there with a bucket of chicken and a sniper rifle.

I happened to be wearing a predominantly black outfit to work today and one of my co-workers only half-jokingly asked if I was in mourning for the Cubs. She’s a Cubs fan too.

but I’ve also gotten a lot of “What happened?” Everyone expects me to explain why they lost so badly.

most people are Tigers and Lions fans and they are the ones who truly need condolences. One friend did give me a hug saying she was so sorry. Of course on the radio its either the “curse” continues or endless jokes about the Cubs and their fans. I figure they deserve it for flopping so badlyand so do I for falling for the “This is the Year” crap when my memories go back past 1969. I knew better and I won’t fall for it again. Plus, I don’t want condolences, I want a world championship.

It kinda stinks. Then again, I don’t mind from friends. They know and get it.

I belong to a few very close knit internet groups. Got tons of emails the last 2 days. I JUST WANT TO COME HOME ONE DAY IN OCTOBER and have tons of happy emails. Guys the day after we win the world series my phone will be busy for 24 hours straight.

ANd also had 2 close friends who never really followed baseball who got into it this year partially because of me who are POed at me because they really wouldn’t have given a darn otherwise,

And a very dear friend who is getting our local friends together to take me to lunch on Saturday.

saying their sorry to me. People notice me without my Cubs hat on. And I told them whats the f’n point.

But ill be sending some too my “unfortunate” Sox Fan co-workers

My wife and I deliver newspapers in Peoria and we ran across a homemade Cubs sign that looks like it was taken to Chicago for a NLDS game and it said:

“Next year is FINALLY here!”

It was sittiing at an angle…in a garbage can for pick up.

i think they are just checking if I’m ready to “jump off of the ledge”

from everyone I know were dishing out condolences. With all the media attention to the latest flop, everyone feels it I guess. I love the Cubs and the game of baseball and will be right back when pitcher’s and catcher’s report in Feb.

but it’s kind of nice because it’s coming from the girls I work with who know nothing about baseball except the futility of the Cubs….I’m definitely riding this sympathy card out!

in San Diego who’s a die hard Dodger fan. Him and I went back in forth before the series started. Had to swallow my pride and send him a congrats. Both of us are avid baseball fans so It’s a mutual respect thing between teams. I’m rooting for the Dodgers the rest of the way.

Friday was the day of mourning and coming to terms with everything. I’d already accepted the loss before Game 3 and people around me reacted accordingly.

Let’s see…my neighbors (who caught me bringing in my gnome), my wife’s friend, my in-laws. None of them are particularly big baseball fans, so I’m not sure they fully realized the pain I was in. But it was nice of them to mention it. I was a zombie that day. An absolute zombie. I think I’m just starting to wake up now.

I just made and sent a card to my brother with a picture of Charlie Brown on the mound screaming “AAUGH!” with a note about how I feel his pain.

Many friends and family members know I live and die with the team, though many also stated I should be able to recover given the ’Hawks recent uprising.

But one jackass – let’s call him Gregory – who’s as self centered as you can be and allegedly a converted-to-sox-fan-from-the-flubs as he puts it, was all over me just yesterday, before the Sox got eliminated.

Suffice to say after a few bitter emails back and forth I told him to shove it. I used to think of him as a decent acquaintance and decent friend. But after yesterday and the fact he’s gone out of his way to rub shit in over the past few years, I’ve had enough. If I ever see or hear from him again, it will be too soon.