Why Are You a Cubs Fan?

[Outshined_One]

We know some people from the Cubs organization drop by this board on occasion and read our posts, whether it's Len Kasper or some of the guys from the minors. They peruse this site and see what we have to say about them, be it for good or ill.

 

We've heard interviews with these guys before. We've heard their stories. We know what keeps them going every day. However, a number of them haven't heard our side of things. They might not know why we keep showing up to the ball parks every day. They might not know what reasons drive us to watch them, day in, day out. Well, now is our chance.

 

As the thread title suggests...why are you a Cubs fan? Why do you stick with them through thick and thin? Why do you want them to do the seemingly unthinkable?

 

I'll start with my own side of things...

 

Why am I a Cubs fan?

 

I don't care about curses. All I care about is that one day when everything finally comes together and makes sense. Maybe it'll happen 11 wins from now; maybe it'll never happen. I can't predict the future. However, I can speak from experience.

 

Why am I a Cubs fan?

 

I was born on the north side of the city and pretty much came out of the womb with a Cubs hat on. I was crushed in 1998. 2001 was harsh. I was devastated in 2003. 2004 left in me in disbelief. I've attended more Cubs games that ended in losses than I care to remember. Any time I tell my family that I think the Cubs have it in them to win it all, I get laughed at. My grandfather was a Cubs fan and he never saw the Cubs win a World Series in his lifetime. Why should I?

 

Why am I a Cubs fan?

 

All I care about is finally coming to that point in my life as a Cubs fan when everything makes sense. I want to get to that point where all of my time, energy, and effort will finally mean I won't be reciting "maybe next year" ad nauseam. Part of me wants to rub it in every fan of the Cardinals, Astros, Brewers, Reds, White Sox, or any other team who doesn't know Mark Clark from Mark DeRosa. However, in the end, I just want that World Championship more than anything else.

 

Why am I a Cubs fan?

 

Ryne Sandberg taught me about playing the game with ease and aplomb. Greg Maddux taught me it was okay to be a nerd while still being a jock. Sammy Sosa taught me how baseball can bring the fans joy and excitement. Kerry Wood made it look easy. Mark Prior made it look effortless. Derrek Lee makes it look graceful. Carlos Zambrano makes it look like it means life and death.

 

Why am I a Cubs fan?

 

Because, in the end, it simply makes sense. I wouldn't give it up for anything in the world.

 

Why are you a Cubs fan?

[NewUserName]

WGN

 

They were on everyday when I was a kid

[snoodmonger]

Because my parents raised me right.

[ZiggyTaxi]

BECAUSE I FREAKING LOVE YOU OUTSHINED_ONE

[aerosmith21]

Because they were on wgn all the time compared to the brewers here in wisconsin. Also my late baseball coach who just passed away 2 months before the season started. He was my coach from tball all the way thru high school and was such a die hard cubs fan. We got along so good so that is the main reason that i become a die hard fan.

[Omar]

Why am I a Cubs fan?

 

Geovany Soto.

 

Why am I a Cubs fan?

 

One lonely day in the summer, I was just browsing through channels and nothing was on... So I turned randomly to the Cubs game... And it looked really interesting. Double plays, hits, home runs. From then on, even though they lost that game, I got hooked.

 

Why am I a Cubs fan?

 

I need something to complain about.

 

Why am I a Cubs fan?

 

Why am I not a Cubs fan?

 

Why am I a Cubs fan?

 

Because the White Sox have a enough fans. Red, white and blue are also a lot better than black and white. You hate the Cubs, you hate America. Commy.

 

Why am I a Cubs fan?

 

Summer. The Cubs are about waking up each and every day of the summer thinking what will happen that day on the diamond. Turning on the TV and computer half asleep. Checking (and usually complaining) about the line-ups on NSBB. Jumping up when something exciting happens and sitting there silently shaking your head at mistakes the Cubs make. Watching the Chicago Cubs play at the best ballpark ever built in the best city in the world. Watching a team you love, players you adore. Lee, Ramirez, Wood... Then when the game is over you go to the local baseball field with some friends to play some ball and you emulate the delivery of your favorite pitcher and the batting stance of your favorite hitter... And come home to sit next to your bed while bouncing a baseball into your glove because the padding is too thick... as the sun sets...

[TruffleShuffle]

Geovany Soto.

 

 

 

 

oh yeah, i'm a cubs fan because my dad is

[WrigleyinEngland]

Fell in Love with the city and Wrigleyville, pay thousands of $$ to get over each summer just so i can have nights like this. Cry with them , laugh with them and at them, shout at them, dream with them and most of all love them. Thank you to guys like Ron Santo who still make me believe. No other team in sports makes me feel like the cubs, now let's go finish this thing!!!!

[C.C.]

Why am I a Cubs fan???

 

 

LOVE, HOPE, and of course above all FAITH.

 

Why am I a Cubs Fan???

 

Because we are the best fans on this earth! Bar none! We are all drunken' stupid on the Cubs. I wouldn't want it any other way. We cheer together and cry together. I love everyone that sticks by this team no matter what. NEVER QUIT! When we finally win it all, I want to party with real Cubs fans! Cubs fans like the people on this board!

[Sammy Sofa]

Because that's how my parents raised me. It just seemed to be the way of things. Nothing else would make sense.

[inari]

Why am I a Cubs fan?

 

...you're saying there's an alternative?

[BigbadB]

I'm a Cubs fan for many reasons.

 

All those trips to Chicago (from Peoria) on the weekends to see my grandmother, and Cubs games were on all the time.

 

Who did I watch play in those games? Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, Rick Hundley, Fergie Jenkins, Joe Pepitone, Jim Hickman, Glenn Beckert, Don Kessinger, Ken Holtzman and the guy who really got me hooked on this team more than any other guy, Milt Pappas and his no hitter.

 

There always seemed to be at least one guy I really enjoyed watching play baseball on the Cubs no matter what year and no matter how bad the team played. Whether that guy was Rick Rueschel, Jose Cardenal, Bill Madlock, Bruce Sutter, Shawon Dunston, Lee Smith, Ryne Sandberg, Mark Grace, Sammy Sosa to Derrek Lee, WGN gave me the opportunity to watch my guys win or lose games on a regular basis.

 

Taking in a weekend series against the Cardinals was always fun. The drive then seemed like a trip across the country, even though it was only from Peoria. I grew up in the heartland of a great rivalry between those two teams. All of my friends were either Cubs fans or Cardinals fans. Some switched their allegiances depending on who was doing better, but kids were so young that switching allegiances didn't mean much. I never swayed. I loved the boys in blue.

 

The park, the city, the childhood memories. I will always be a Cub fan.

 

My grandfather raised 6 kids through the depression years in central Illinois. He had to work very hard to support his family, and probably wouldn't have a clue what the fascination with baseball was. They couldn't afford to make the trip if they wanted to.

 

When my grandfather retired (fairly well off, I might add), he broke down and got cable tv. I stopped by his house one day and he was sitting in his favorite chair watching a Cub game on WGN. I sat with him and we got to talking about why he was watching Cubs baseball. He said being retired makes it hard to keep busy and at his age, he does get tired pretty easily. When he flips channels during the day, there is never anything on worth watching. So, one day he found a Cub game and watched it from beginning to end. Now, he won't miss a Cub game. Hook, line, sinker.

 

I wonder if WGN really knows how many fans they sucked into this team by showing them regularly? Granted, many of those people are old like me, but it puts a tear in my eye when I think about what Cubs baseball does for retired guys who refuse to sit and watch soap operas all day long.

 

Thank you WGN. Thank you city of Chicago. Thanks to the many fans who have felt the pain but keep the faith.

 

Thanks to the baseball package and NSBB for allowing me to feel like I'm in the locker room or in the seats with the Cubs even though I'm actually over 2000 miles away. I stay in touch with the Cubs now more than I ever did, and I was always a huge fan.

 

This is why I am a Cubs fan.

 

Edited to clarify that my grandfather did not raise kids during the depression, but rather during World War II. Either way, it was a tough time for a big family during those years.

 

I'm not that old. Yeesh.

Edited September 29, 2007 by BigbadB

[ninetynineplus]

I grew up in Cedar Falls, IA... I was a white sox fan, but not much of a baseball fan... i went to this game when i was 15 http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN200108070.shtml and everything was changed.. steve mcmichael was thrown out for questioning the home plate umpire during the stretch.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_McMichael#After_Wrestling

the game ended on a joe girardi single when he got caught in a rundown and ricky gutierrez scored... the game was amazing.. i had so much fun and have been addicted ever since..

 

I have since grown to love the cubs for everything that they stand... the fans, wrigley, harry caray, ron santo, ryno.. everything.. i love it all and am so happy for the organization!!

[C.C.]

I have good friends from San Pedro, Belize who are HUGE Cubs fans. I went there on vacation 5 years ago and found out this tiny little island are all Cubs fans. Why? Because WGN was their first cable channel they ever got and everyone grew up with the Cubs. They came out here the past two years, and you should've seen their face the first time they saw Wrigley. They were in awe! They dreamt about this moment all their lives...It was a cool moment for them and me.

 

Cubs are world wide man! They touch us all...

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Growing up in Louisiana before ESPN carried baseball three or so times a week and before the advent of regional sports networks, there were three outlets for baseball. WGN (Cubs), TBS (Braves), and the Saturday game of the week.

 

As my love for baseball grew, I started spending afternoons sitting with my grandfather watching the Cubs. Before long, I was a Cub fan. The 1984 team was the first one to really capture me. After that, I was hooked.

[ctcf]

Ron Santo

[NCCubFan]

I grew up a Cub fan and have been following them since 1969. We lived about an hour north of Chicago at the time. My father was never a sports fan, but my grandfather (on my mother's side) was. Whenever we visited him in Indiana we watched Cub games on WGN, and I eventually started watching the games at home immediately after returning home from school. I got hooked enough that I got a transistor radio with earplug so I could listen to the radio broadcasts of the west coast games when I wa supposed to be sleeping. The gool old days with Jack and various partners (originally Lloyd Pettit) on TV and Vince and Lou on the radio.

[VicCub]

My dad was an original Bleacher Bum from the 60s so I honestly don't remember NOT being a Cub fan. Dad took me to 4 games between '78 and '81. We would listen to the games on GN while playing catch.

 

Dad died in a car accident in '81 so it would be a crime against his memory to switch teams. You won't find a more committed lifer than me- I have no choice, but if I did I wouldn't chose any differently.

 

I have learned to let losing roll off of my back, but winning brings me great joy and I think of my dad and how happy he would be. Dad was born after the '45 WS and never saw even a Cub playoff game his whole life! Really, the Cubs are truly part of my dna- we are intertwined forever.

[anabiono]

i am florida born...my family is from illinois...

 

i grew up wondering why the buccaneers sucked something awful all the time and why it was always so exciting when we went to the bears bucs game...

 

i was big into basketball when i was little, so my first love out of chicago were the bulls...

 

when i was 10, i went to Chicago for the first time and drove past Wrigley Field...something changed on that day that didn't make sense to me at the time...i felt...magic...driving past that historic site...

 

in the midst of the bulls winning their 6 championships in the 90's...i began to really really get into baseball...i was excited about having a hometown team finally...the devilrays...and pissed that the marlins were good...

 

my cubs enchantment began back then by watching games on WGN...but then something bad happened...the marlins beat the indians in the world series...and i think i pretty much said stufu baseball after that...

 

i remember being excited that woody had a 20 K game and remember watching the talking heads get excited about prior...but then i had a hard time with drugs and i pretty much left sports all together from 2001 till 2005...

 

i feel weird about missing all of that cubs heartbreak...i don't know if it was for good or bad...but i can't really change it...however, i respect all of you tremendously who went through it because after this season of ups and downs...i can't even begin to fathom what that must have been like...especially 2003...

 

i came back to baseball watching the bloody white sox win the series, and then followed that up by watching the cardinals do it the next year...

 

i was praying for soriano during the offseason and couldn't believe it when my friend called and told me that we had signed him...

 

i went to my first cubs game this past week in miami and i felt at home...not in miami...but around all of those cub fans...it was a special moment all things considered...

 

i haven't cried for a team since the bulls came back in game 6 to win the championship against the trailblazers...

 

but, after the 8-0 spanking of the pirates last weekend...and the WGN tribute to the season, my first tears for a sports team came out again...

 

go cubs go...i am cub fan because my family comes from there...i am a cub fan because i really always have been from that moment i saw Wrigley Field...

 

i am cub fan because of how they make me feel...when they lose...i am not in a good mood for a while...but...when they win...wow...i can't stop smiling...better than any drug i have ever done...and dare i say it, sometimes even better than sex...

 

i am a cubs fan because of the love i feel during every cubs game...from the players and the fans...they are special and i am so happy that i got back into baseball to witness this beautiful moment...

[Roast]

1998. Sammy Sosa.

 

 

That's what got me into it; but why do I stay? Because I'm friggin addicted!

[Lockes Eye Scar]

sins of the father.

[Zonk Moreland]

Great thread 8-)

 

My Grandpa became a Cubs fan at a young age and remained a Cubs fan even after a move to Saint Louis. I lived in my grandparent's house through my childhood and everyday after school I would come home and sit down on the floor next to his chair and watch the Cubs games with him. He taught me all about the old Cubs of his day (he loved Gabby Hartnett) and that Ryne Sandberg was the type of player I was supposed to want to be like. Through those years I learned what devotion to a team is, what passion and loyalty are, and in 1984 I learned what heartbreak is. In other words, I learned to be a Cub fan.

 

He passed away some years ago and all the family members that were Cub fans at one time have since changed their alliance to the current hometown team. I am the last one that still is bleeding Cubbie blue but I do have a son now that will hopefully not get caught up in the hometown Cardinal madness and will walk with the rest of us Cub fans down the road of seemingly endless Cubbie hope!

 

I have my grandpa to thank for making me a Cubs fan. I owe it to him for the 20 years of companionship that was so strongly bonded by the Cubs to always remain a Cubs fan. As I watched the game last night I couldn't help but think about him and how this might be 'the year' and how I wished he could be here with me to share the hope with me.

[jjgman21]

I grew up in a broken home as a latch key kid. my mom planted the seed, bringing me to a game at Wrigley every month of the 1977 season.

 

I guess the seed planted by my mom sprouted and bloomed because Jack Brickhouse was my baby sitter.

[Guest]

My mom.

[CuseCubFan69]

I didn't have a job so I used to go to Wrigley and boo them.