The Cubs Won't Win the World Series, and That's OK

After Conor Gillaspie gashed the hearts of 40,000 strong in Queens last night with a three-run bomb in the top of the ninth inning, the San Francisco Giants began to make plans to head to Wrigley Field to face the Chicago Cubs in the National League Divisional Series. While Madison Bumgarner was chugging four Budweisers at once, two realizations occurred in my head.

The Cubs will probably lose, and thats OK.

Look, maybe I’m just a cynical Cubs fan who is trying to perform some weird reverse psychology on myself and the team I love, but the unbiased, young, sports-media guy in me truly does think the Cubs will not get it done this October, and it is OK.

It’s an even year. The Giants have won five-in-a-row and have the most dominant postseason pitcher in Major League Baseball history on their side. Sure, he’ll likely only start one game, but I wouldn’t put it past this Paul Bunyan-freak-of-nature to toss game three then trot out to the Wrigley Field mound in game five and hurl a complete game shutout while axing Cubs fans hopes and dreams everywhere. Not to mention the Giants are playing with absolutely no pressure, completely confident, and with a chip on their shoulder that these baby Cubs have no clue what it means to be champs.

“I I hope to God we do (play the Cubs.) We’ll find out who’s got the coconuts,” Johnny Cueto said in September when asked if he wants to see Chicago in the postseason.

Yikes. That makes my coconuts shrink. Guess that’s why I’m writing this and not playing, but anyways.

San Francisco has won three World Series championships since 2010 and have the chance to make it four in six seasons this October. That is on-par with the legendary Yankees teams from ’96-00, ’53-’61, historic teams. They’re the underdog? They’re being overlooked? They have no pressure? Only the Cubs best team in the last 100 years would have to face a ball club like this one.

So what if they do get past the Giants? Hello Max Scherzer or Clayton Kershaw. And let us not forget its been a few years since the Red Sox have won a World Series. Three years is a long time for these long-suffering Bosox faithful, and oh, what do you know? David Ortiz is retiring at the end of the season. How about that for a Hollywood script? The legend, Big Papi, ends his Hall-of-Fame career with a walk-off home run to beat the Chicago Cubs in game seven of the World Series at Fenway Park.

LeBron broke the Cleveland Curse in June after he led the Cavaliers past Golden State in the NBA Finals. Now, the Indians have free reign to bring home a trophy for the first time since 1946. Really, LeBron? It had to be this season you had to break the Cleveland Curse. Now you want to make it Believeland and open the doors for the Tribe to extend the Cubs drought another season? Cubs lead the series three games to two before LeBron makes a surprise appearance at game six in Cleveland with the Larry O’Brien trophy sparking a two-game rally for the Indians to take it home.

All of these scenarios have played out in my head. All of them had to add up to this season when the Cubs are supposed to finally get it over with.

The Cubs won’t win the World Series. It’s OK.

It’s OK because at the end of the day, that’s not what fandom is about. Yes, everyone wants their beloved teams to win the championship every year. It makes you happy, makes your relationships happier, makes your city proud, but when you strip all that away, its not what fandom is about.

Its OK the Cubs won’t win the World Series because of the memories I’ve made and joy I’ve experienced with friends and family alike over the last two seasons because of the success of these Cubs. Being able to sit down with my parents and sister every night knowing the Cubs will likely win makes spring and summer that much better. Making an annual trip to Wrigley every June with lifelong friends and celebrating a dominant Cubs win in Wrigleyville afterwards is something I’ll never forget. And yes, waking up on a Friday in October with the excitement of a 7-year-old on Christmas morning because you get to watch your Cubbies compete for a world championship is something I will always cherish no matter how long it takes for the drought to end. Beats the hell out of sitting on 102 losses and watching the Cardinals handle business in the playoffs.

Jimmy Fallon may have had the most relatable and memorable movie line I’ve ever heard in his 2004 romantic-comedy, “Fever Pitch”, that I always resort back to. In the film, he plays a lifelong, diehard Red Sox fan who is torn between his love for the Sox and his girlfriend. The playoffs are approaching for the Bosox, and they’re limping their way into October. His buddies are distraught because its shaping up to be another year of what they’ve been used to: teased enough to get their hopes up only to bring them crashing down against the Yanks in Yankee Stadium. But Fallon’s character starts to realize something. He begins to realize the Red Sox are more than just a constant pursuit of that elusive title. As his friend asks the question that so many Cubs fans ask on a yearly basis, “Why do we inflict this on ourselves?” Fallon responds perfectly.

“Because the Red Sox never let you down. Sure, they haven’t won a World Series in a century or so, but they’re here. Every April, they’re here. Whether its 1:05 or 7:05, there is a game. And if it gets rained out, guess what? They make it up to you. Does anyone else do that?”

Makes Dexter Fowler striking out looking in the final at-bat of the season in the NLCS last year seem like a distant memory you can hardly recall. Because you know what? The Cubs were back winning again in April. So, thank you, Cubs. Thank you for always being there in the beautiful Wrigley Field that seems like a home-away-from-home for so many of us. Thank you for giving me topics of conversation with my grandparents, stories to tell my kids one day, and an extended family every spring and summer.

Even if you don’t win the World Series this year, its OK. I can’t wait to celebrate with you during my annual trip to Wrigley in June next year.