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Waiting Their Whole Lives

Generations lived and died, waiting for the Cubs to win the championship of baseball. My Cardinals have won it 11 times since 1908. Think about that. And now, all the waiting is over.

I live and die with every pitch, so I get it. Then again, I never could. Winning is tradition in St. Louis. A season without a playoff appearance (like this last one) is a total loss, and it'll be going on 6 years since the last championship. The natives are getting restless, if you can believe that.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry to all the beleaguered fanbases out there. Winning does nothing, if not breed the desire for more winning. The fans in Chicago will get arrogant. Fans always do.

On the other hand, if you're a die-hard, the other teams in the way always seem bigger and badder than they probably are. Your team is unlucky, behind the 8-ball, opposed by the umpires, et cetera. I have never seen a team in my life that didn't talk about "adversity." Even if they won 103 games.

Still, baseball is a hard game. A team isn't lying when it talks like this. Even if they go rampaging around the league. And that's a fitting way to end 108 years of futility. The raw emotion of the thing, that's because baseball is more than baseball; it's family.

And now, generations of families can add more than aspirations to their bonds of love. It's the stuff of reality. And no one can take it away.
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