I recently had a discussion (really, an argument of sorts) with a friend, we will call him "Ronnie Woo Woo", who explained to me the reason why the 2008 Chicago Cubs were swept by the L.A. Dodgers: "It had to be the curse," Ronnie Woo Woo explained, "before the opening game, a priest from Chicago spread Holy Water around the Cubbies dugout to 'rid' them of their 100-year-old curse."
My thoughts you wonder? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! I cannot believe, as a Cub fan, that there is a curse surrounding this franchise. It is impossible. It is absolutely absurd. It is the reason why the Cubs are known by their local rivals, the White Sox, as the "Loveable Losers". I can't stand it anymore. NO MAS!
Ronnie Woo Woo, therefore, behind his reasoning, is telling me that in 2003, instead of blowing a 3-0 lead against the Florida Marlins, Alex Gonzalez making a CRUCIAL error in the late innings and the entire team failing to drive in key runs in the subsequent games (honestly, the Cubs seemed to forget how to play the game of baseball after the Bartman incident), that the Cubs lost the game due to some voodoo curse? NO. That is ridiculous.
Ronnie Woo Woo, once again, will blame the 2008 sweep by L.A. as an act from some being from the outer world? WOW. Ya gotta' be kiddin' me Ronnie Woo Woo. Simply put: The Cubs seemingly forgot how to play the basic fundamentals of baseball, such as fielding (if you remember, each Cubs infielder made an error in game 2), hitting with runners on base (Both Geovany Soto and Aramis Ramirez batted a dismal .182, Alfonso Soriano swung a sweet lumber at a clip of .071 and who could forget the savior from Japan! Kusoke chipped in a cool .100) and pitching (Harden, ERA 6.23, Dempster, ERA 7.71 and 7 BB in 4.2 IP).
Okay. I will be a little more kind to Ronnie Woo Woo. Actually, no I won't, because the idea of a curse is unbelieveable, literally. I love Sweet Lou Pinella, and I think he did a great job in 2008 and I expect, along with all of the North Side Followers, that the Cubs will compete in 2009. But come on Ronnie Woo Woo, you gotta' understand to win the World Series, a team must perform in the Playoffs and execute the basic fundamentals that they practice now, in January and February, not only throughout the regular season, but far into the post-season too.
Cheers to a curse free 2009!
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As a life-long Cubs fan, I used to believe there was a curse. Up until the last couple years, it seemed the strange and bazaar always deterred Chicago off course. Last year, though, it was just the opposite. The Cubs had everything they needed, but couldn't win a single game. AND nothing strange happened! Now, I'm starting to dismiss this whole curse thing.
ReplyDeleteAs a Cubs fan myself I will agree with you that the thought of a curse is absurd. But, I will say that after watching the playoffs the last two seasons I can see why people want to buy into the whole "curse" philosophy. It's either believe that or believe that the Cubs can play great baseball all season long and then choke on the big stage. And the latter is a too tough of a pill to swallow for most.
ReplyDeleteI've never really thought there is a "curse." they lose in the playoffs because they stop playing the sort of baseball that got them there in the first place. throw in some errors, and it's a recipe for losses.
ReplyDeleteBelieving in curses is like believing in unicorns. They don't exist. I think the most recent playoffs, the entire team felt the weight of the world on them to win and they completely folded. During the regular season they played loose and care-free, but once they knew everyone was relying on them to win when it mattered most for sooo many reasons, they crumbled. Once the first thing went wrong, the dominos just kept falling. And did Woo-Woo really say that you???
ReplyDeleteYes, "Ronnie Woo Woo" really said that to me and still, to this day, won't attempt to think like a real baseball fan and admit his fantasy filled statements are completely erroneous!
ReplyDeleteThere's no curses and there is no bad luck. You make your own luck and baseball is an extremely tough game. There is one winner a year and a team could have the best players on the planet and spend millions and millions of dollars (A la Yankees) but spending money doesn't buy World Series rings. It is the players mentality in not getting caught up in everything and just playing the game for love. So many athletes forget that. It'll be interesting what the Yankees do this next season and what the Cubs do after falling apart last season. Cubs have an incredible rotation and everyday lineup and they should have what it takes to get to the playoffs but from there it is anyone's game. Throw out the records. When Cubs get to the playoffs they need to forget their history and just play like they did all season (granting they make the playoffs). They are carrying way too much weight on their shoulders and seamlessly fall apart every year because of it.
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