Cubbies charge into town
April 18, 2007 at 4:57 pm by Jake Gantz in NewsOK, baseball fans, the last-place Chicago Cubs (5-8) begin a two-game series with the division-leading Braves (9-4) tonight, so I thought a small comparison of the team histories was in order — that is, considering they are so drastically different.
Being a Braves fan has been easy. It’s like being a baby: Every time we open our mouths, someone shovels more food in; when we take a shit, someone else cleans it up. There are no curses, no bad joo-joo, nada. The only thing difficult, it would appear, about being a Braves fan is showing up to the games! This is not true for Cubs fans.
All of that said shit has been dumped on the Cubbies, those lovable losers from the North Side of Chicago. Not since 1908 have the Cubs won a World Series — the longest dry spell in all of baseball and of every major sport in the United States. I’d list the huge events that have occurred since the last time the Cubs won the championship, but you are probably planning on going to bed tonight before 3 a.m. (If not, well, maybe you should get a job.)
Even the “successful” seasons have been … well, interesting. The Cubs have been to the Fall Classic a bunch of times since 1908, but could never quite finish off their opponent. Their most recent hiccup is known only by one name, Bartman. The incident occurred when, with one out in the top of the eighth inning of game six of the 2003 National League Championship Series, devout Cubs fan Steve Bartman, native of suburban Chicago, reached out to catch a foul ball (among a sea of other hands, mind you) and interfered with Moises Alou, who seemed to have been in place to make the great catch. This led to the Florida Marlins scoring a few runs, taking the lead from the Cubs, and going on to win the series and the championship against the Yankees. As I said, it’s hard out here for a pimp, and for a Cubs fan.
The fate of the Braves has been a teensy bit different, so to speak. Winners of every division title between 1991-2005 and a World Series in 1995, the Braves franchise is as successful as its long-time owner Ted Turner is rich. Just go to Turner Field and take a look at all of the banners hanging on the side of the restaurant in left field — it’s amazing. They are as consistent as the seasons, as the sun rising in the morning and as time itself.
The last time the Cubs won their division was back in 2003; ironically it had been 14 years since they had accomplished that. It was also that same year that the Cubs came down to Turner Field and ousted the Braves in the playoffs in a rough five-game series. So with that sour taste in their mouths, Kyle Davies and the rest of the young Braves team take the field to defend that which is rightfully theirs — and start a new division-title streak.
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