You often hear fans say, "those were my Cubs" and for each person, that phrase captures something uniquely personal. For me growing up, my Cubs were Sandberg, Dunston, Dawson, and Grace. They defined my childhood love of baseball and filled it with memories and joy at a time when life was just about living in the present moment and soaking it all in with wide wondrous eyes. That's why saying goodbye to sports heroes hurts so much. It's a reminder of how deeply sports and the athletes we grow up admiring and wanting to be like can be intertwined with our identities and childhood memories, and how the end of an era can feel like the loss of a piece of ourselves.
Thanks for everything, Ryno!