Have been with the Northsiders since the beginning, or at least since the Fire. Was there when Al Spalding threw the first pitch in 1876. Saw the glory days of 1880-86; was devasted when Cap dumped King Kelly, George Gore, and John Clarkson--all of whom went on to win championships in Boston and New York.

Survived the lean years of the 1890s and early '00's. Was there when Frank Selee created the '06-'10 dynasty. Saw the Merkle game when Hank O'Day and Johnnie Evers combined to give us another chance. Went to Detroit to see Orval Overall shut down the Tigers in the rain, in what I think was the least watched World Series game in history. Loved watching Wildfire Schulte, my favorite player since Gore and Kelly. And Three Finger Brown was a marvel.

Got through the dreary '20s until '29, when the Rajah gave us a pennant. Was at Wrigley when Ruth, who shut us down on the mound in '18, did NOT call the shot against Charlie Root in '32. The great winning streak in '35, which gave us the pennant over the Redbirds, was my favorite September ever. But the loss to the Tigers in the World Series was hard to swallow, as we wasted Stan Hack's leadoff triple in the 9th inning of game 7. Nearly caught Gabby's Homer in the Gloamin' in '38, as we celebrated our 4th NL crown in 7 years. In '45, the year we dropped the bomb (as Steve Goodman reminded us), we won 2 of 3 in Detroit before losing 3 of 4 in Wrigley. I still don't know what Jolly Cholly was thinking when he started Hank Borowy on one day's rest when he had Claude Passeau, who pitched one of the 4 1-hitters in World Series history in game 3, ready, willing, and able.

Spent most of the post-war years in a drunken stupor. But sobered up when Leo arrived and '69 happened. Then there was that cat and the Mets pitching. And we couldn't beat the Pirates in '70 and '72. Had we not traded Brock, Ernie, Ron, Billy, and Fergie would have a couple of rings.

Saw the '77 and '78 teams collapse in August, which caused a drunken relapse until the Sandberg game. Was there for the 13-1 win over the Pads in game 1 of the NLCS, my happiest day ever, but failed to travel west to San Diego and blame myself for not being there to keep the ball from going through Durham's legs. Spent a few more years wallowing in alcohol but sobered up for the Boys of Zimmer in '89. But Will Clark outhit Grace in the playoffs, and Mitch Williams was hard to watch.

The recent stuff is mostly a blur, but I was there for the Traschel playoff game in '98 and all of Sosa's dingers that year. Then some guy named Bartman caused me to spend the last 5 years in therapy. They tell me that we lost to a team called the Diamondbacks in the '07 playoffs. I remember the Worchester Ruby Legs, but the Diamondbacks? That's a mystery. Am hoping to recover in '08 with this guy Pinella, who reminds me of the Peerless Leader, but I'm not quitting drinking until mid-season, at the earliest.