Chicago Cubs Swept in NLDS by Los Angeles Dodgers

What can I say?

Part of me wants to say that I saw this sweep coming because of the Cubs’ history.

Part of me wants to say that I think Cubs fans brought this sweep upon themselves with their pathetic display of “support” during the first two games in Wrigley.

But for the most part, I just want to say that Cubs were swept in the NLDS by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and I will be cheering and rooting and believing as much as I possibly can in hopes that the same fate does not befall the Chicago White Sox tomorrow night when they face the Rays at U.S. Cellular Field.

I really don’t feel like gloating, or rubbing it in, or publicly reveling in the misery of Cubs Nation. I feel justified in doing so, because sometimes arrogance and holier-than-thou attitudes come back to karmically bite you right in your ass. But honestly, it’s almost too easy at this point. Like I said when I started out this post, what can I say? The Cubs are cursed, their fans didn’t believe in them, and the self-fulfilling prophesy foretold by the lack of energy and support in Wrigley Field came true.

If you’re a Cubs fan, you can’t even say “Wait until next year.” Your “savior” manager Lou Piniella is 0-6 in two postseason series with the Cubs. One of your top offensive players, Alfonso Soriano, is statistically one of the worst posteason hitters in the history of baseball. Your ace pitcher Carlos Zambrano cannot control his emotions enough to deliver in key spots. Your other “great” pitcher Ryan Dempster shit the bed at Wrigley Field, where he had been light’s out all year long. Your emotional center and calm, steadying influence, first baseman Derrek Lee, was forced to express his frustration with bat tosses and helmet slams.

I checked mlb.com and the Tribune website and couldn’t find any quotes yet. Perhaps that is because it still too soon after the game. Or perhaps that is because there is really nothing to say when your franchise, your team, your manager, and your fans deliver one of the all-time postseason choke jobs I have ever witnessed.

Well, I guess you can call me a hypocrite. I started off this post by insinuating that I wouldn’t rub it in, that I didn’t know what to say. Apparently I had plenty to say. But the most significant thing I have to say is this:

The White Sox are down 0-2, the exact same position that the Cubs found themselves in today. I fully expected the Cubs to lose, and based on their actions in Wrigley this week I think the vast majority of Cubs fans expected the same thing. But when the White Sox take the field tomorrow and Monday night (and there will be a Monday night, as well as a Wednesday night) I fully expect them to come out fighting, paws up, and play like they always do when their backs are against the wall: like champions. I haven’t talked to one White Sox fan, even after we went down 0-2, that was not completely confident in the White Sox chances to win this series.

That is the difference between White Sox fans and Cubs fans; not just that we believe in our team, but that we actually have a reason to believe.

When it’s been more than 100 years since you’ve tasted a championship, it’s hard to expect a franchise and its fans to believe.

And yet, something is missing with that statement. Because in 2005, the White Sox hadn’t tasted a championship in 100 years, yet the entire theme that drove us to a World Series win was “don’t stop believing.” Faith is defined is believing without seeing. The White Sox and its fans had faith in their chances to win, without any past experience to dictate that they should to foretell a positive outcome. But faith won us a World Series, and it will take our series against Tampa Bay back to Tropicana Field. We just won three games last week without backs against the wall, and we’re about to do it again. I have faith. I know the rest of the White Sox fans have faith, and will show it tomorrow night and Monday and support their team. And I know that Ozzie Guillen has faith, and that our team has faith.

My question for Cubs fans is: where is your faith? If you’re always waiting to be given a reason to believe, you just may be waiting another 100 years. If you can find a way to believe without seeing, and if the loser franchise you love can do the same, perhaps some season in the future can actually fulfill the cliched prophesy of being that elusive “next year” you’re waiting for.

Otherwise, there’s a big bandwagon of faith down on the South Side with plenty of room for converts. It might be the only chance you’ll have to experience a championship in your lifetime.

(And if you think you can handle it in the early midst of your harrowing sweep hangover, this is what that experience feels like.)

[tags]chicago cubs, chicago white sox, mlb, mlb playoffs, baseball[/tags]

Tags: baseball, carlos zambrano, chicago cubs, Chicago White Sox, lou piniella, MLB, mlb playoffs

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