The Cubs Canon Whales Jersey Winner!

The album that began in an article about Cubs victory songs is here. The Cubs Canon 2015 is in the can! Including 16 new songs and seven videos, all crowd-sourced, produced, written and conceived by readers of Bleed Cubbie Blue, The Ivy Envy Podcast, and The Son Ranto Show. You can listen to it for free and download the whole album for $5 for the rest of this week.

My original idea was to raise money for my band's "Gig and a Game" tour out west last year, where we played 5 shows in California and only missed one game. Guess which one? If you answered, Jake Arrieta's no-hitter, ding ding ding! You'd be correct!

But this Cubs album became much more than a musical tour fundraiser. Many of you sent lyrics and unique song ideas, and I loved collaborating with you all! Thank to all of you who helped fund this project; Rhett Ryan, Kateri Nippert, John R., Sally Tibbets, Corey Fineran, Billy Cub, Matt Glasson, Dawn Strand, Dan Nielsen, Sue Draper, Tim Marr, Harold Christensen III, Mike Leonard, Nick Short, Shawn O'Hare, Renee Fortin, and Harry Christensen. You all are an inspiration to musical Cubs fandom.

And of these incredible Cubs fans, there was to be one winner chosen among the supporters of "The 2015 Cubs Canon" for a Chicago Whales Jersey as a raffled off prize.... (drum roll in your own head).... Tim Marr!

(Note: this contest was for "2015 Cubs Canon" Contributors only and not sponsored by Bleed Cubbie Blue, but you can get in on the next contest and album for 2016! Read on.)

I used a random name picker to choose the winner, but I was extremely pleased that Tim won. He was the man that produced the "I Am Missing You" video, which was a joint production of BCB, Ivy Envy and Son Ranto, chock full of videos sent in by fans. If you haven't seen it yet, here it is...

The Whales jersey was not an easy item to part with. I rode my bike down to Wrigley in the pouring rain, for a game I knew would be called, just to get the jersey. Cue sad violin music. But Tim! You deserved it and you got it!

So now what? How about the 2016 Cubs Canon crowd-sourced album which is already happening! And it will continue to happen until this time next year.

There are already four tracks available for download/streaming,including "Heyward" (Hey Jude) and "Lackey" (Happy), as the Cubs off-season was too great an inspiration to pass up. The lofty goal I've set is for a 50+ song album with at least 15 music videos, to act as a soundtrack to the 2016 Cubs Championship Season. But it won't happen without you!

So. Got a Cubs poem you want set to music? Wanna hear The Rolling Stones' "Infatuation" parodied about The Cubs Convention or Kris Bryant's impending marriage? Have an idea for a song about Joe Maddon's glasses stealing signs from the Pirates set to "Sunglasses at Night"? Vaguely concepting a song in which a Cubs fan falls in love with a Cardinals fan and teaches him to follow the blue bricked road? I can write it. My "day job" for the past 14 years has been writing and recording comedy music for syndicated morning radio, so you're in good hands. I love collaborating!

My GoFundMe page will be open for the rest of 2016, awaiting song ideas and donations. You can sponsor the album for as little as $10, the price of a Wrigley Field beer. Plus you'll be entered into this years drawing which wins a Joe Maddon bobblehead. Check the page and lets make the greatest soundtrack to the greatest season from the greatest fans for the greatest team!

And don't forget, if you hate all of this musical garbage and just wish I only talked about stats: You can always donate to my grave.