# Cubs Fans, WTF was THAT? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 2, 2008, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155 "2008-10-02T13:22:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/21 "2008-10-03T19:17:12Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Does Not Compute. 😉 > > I’ve gotta say this isn’t consistent with what I know of Cubs fandom. “Strength of spirit?” What happened to the whole “loveable losers” thing? Granted, I think the idea of loveable losers is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in sports, but I thought the thing that allegedly made Cubs fans special was that they didn’t bother with this kind of angst. I thought they were fine with the fairweather fans who show up on Addison before the games and turn the street into a frat party and that stuff. The loveable losers thing is history. Still, I don’t care if on a Thursday in June you and your idiot buddies from Giagantic Megacorp Inc. wanna pile into your land rover and meander in from Naperville to pay $6 for Old Style and pretend you’re back in college. This is the post season. The time for screwing around is done. You can do Jager bombs at the cubby bear until your eyes fall out, but if you’re at the GAME, dammit, act like you’re happy to be there. You’re where every bleeding-cubbie-blue fan yearns to be come October, more to the point, the END of October, show some respect for the park, the team and the fans who, like me, gave up on other things JUST to buy tickets a year in advance. We don’t have the tolerance for that fairweather crap now. It’s cold out, we miss the summer, we want our Cubbies to FINALLY go all the way, just the once. It can be another hundred years for all we give a damn, we just need this one… ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/22 "2008-10-03T19:40:18Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > Not that it matters in any conceivable way, but by that proposed logic, the Phillies would have the least fans (which, um, is possibly true). You’ve suggested this in a couple of threads, but it’s quite the opposite. The Phillies have a very large fan base. Philadelphia’s one of the biggest metro areas in the United States and the Phillies and the seocnd largest with one one baseball team. They have a very deep and loyal following there. And yeah, they’re the losingest team of all time, but it’s worth noting that a lot of the sucking is way in the past. The REALLY bad Phillies teams date back to before integration. Since then they’ve only won the big prize once, but lots of teams haven’t won it in even longer, or at all, they’ve made the playoffs many times, and have had some truly fantastic players. > [@](#): > > Most people don’t live within 200 miles of the nearest Major League team. Just to nitpick, but that can’t be true. If you look at a population distribution map of North America you will doubtlessly find that far more than half of all people live that close, and in most cases much closer, to a major league team; baseball teams are, by design, placed in all the biggest population centers. Just going by the metro census area, I count about 140 million people in proximity to a major league team (counting Toronto, which is roughly 5 million) and if you go to 200 miles it’s a lot higher. There’s still millions of people who aren’t near an MLB team, of course. But most are. And of course you should be a Blue Jays fan. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/23 "2008-10-03T19:52:59Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Just to nitpick, but that can’t be true. If you look at a population distribution map of North America you will doubtlessly find that far more than half of all people live that close, and in most cases much closer, to a major league team; baseball teams are, by design, placed in all the biggest population centers. Just going by the metro census area, I count about 140 million people in proximity to a major league team (counting Toronto, which is roughly 5 million) and if you go to 200 miles it’s a lot higher. There’s still millions of people who aren’t near an MLB team, of course. But most are. > > And of course you should be a Blue Jays fan. 200 was a little high, I’ll admit. But the idea of a “hometown team” that is several hours away by car is preposterous to me. And why in god’s name would I want to be a Blue Jays fan? When I grew up in the 80s they weren’t very good and they were never on TV, so I never got to know any of the players. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/24 "2008-10-03T20:30:18Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Only if the stands are filled with …who can field their positions. I seem to vaguely remeber something about a cubs fan who went after the ball aggressively ;), you’re saying they need more like him? ---
**Author:** ![Sami41](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@Sami41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sami41)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/25 "2008-10-04T11:49:27Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I seem to vaguely remeber something about a cubs fan who went after the ball aggressively ;), you’re saying they need more like him? It wasn’t his fault!!! Blame Gonzalez the shortstop for kicking the double play ball. Or blame Baker for leaving Prior in the ball game. Blame the Goat. But, please quit blaming Bartman. Florida scored 8 runs that inning. There was only one out when that foul ball was hit, it wouldn’t have ended that (heartbreaking) inning anyway. It wasn’t his fault. As for last night…I got nothin. I’d call it unbelievable, except that it’s not. All the same, Go Cubs Go. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/26 "2008-10-04T12:41:06Z")
> [@buttonjockey308](#): > > The loveable losers thing is history. Still, I don’t care if on a Thursday in June you and your idiot buddies from Giagantic Megacorp Inc. wanna pile into your land rover and meander in from Naperville to pay $6 for Old Style and pretend you’re back in college. _Next year_, I think those frat boy fans are going to find somewhere else to go puke on their shoes, and leave us die-hards in peace. Yeah. Next year, man. Just wait till next year. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/27 "2008-10-04T12:48:54Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > When I grew up in the 80s they weren’t very good and they were never on TV, so I never got to know any of the players. They had terrific teams in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/28 "2008-10-04T15:04:39Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > They had terrific teams in the 80s. They won the division once and only got “good” by 1989, at which point my team loyalty had been set for many years. ---
**Author:** ![Qwisp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qwisp/32/397_2.png) [@Qwisp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwisp)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/29 "2008-10-04T17:46:51Z")
I went to 18 Cubs games this year,including 3 in Cincinnati, 2 in Pittsburgh and 1 in Milwaukee (Lilly’s one hitter against the Astro’s) I truly believed we would take this game in 4 against the Dodgers. Now I’m not so sure we will make it past tonight’s game. We are the best team in the National league. The way we played Wednesday made it look like we are cursed. Four errors in one game? Those were routine plays. I have been a Cubs fan my whole life, during winning streaks and losing streaks. My heart was broke in 2003, not so much last year though, because I wasn’t expecting post season play it was a perk. This year I really thought we had a chance to go all the way. It is heartbreaking. I hope to God I am wrong and we win the next three games, if any team can do it, it would be us. We can not afford any more mistakes though. I will be watching tonight holding my breath to see if we win. I am trying not to get my hopes up,but this year was magic. I don’t think there are any Cubbie fans alive who can stand to see it end against the Dodgers. GO CUBS GO! Please, Please, Please!! ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/30 "2008-10-04T21:13:49Z")
> [@Sami41](#): > > It wasn’t his fault!!! Blame Gonzalez the shortstop for kicking the double play ball. Or blame Baker for leaving Prior in the ball game. Blame the Goat. But, please quit blaming Bartman. Florida scored 8 runs that inning. There was only one out when that foul ball was hit, it wouldn’t have ended that (heartbreaking) inning anyway. It wasn’t his fault. > > All the same, Go Cubs Go. Everyone always says that Gonzalez’s error should have been a double play, but the ball wasn’t hit hard enough. It should have been a fielder’s choice. Even the commentators doing that game said so. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/31 "2008-10-04T21:51:27Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > They won the division once and only got “good” by 1989, at which point my team loyalty had been set for many years. They won the division first in 1985; 1989 was their second. They were good (89-73) in 1983 and had a winning record every year thereafter for a decade, never winning fewer than 86 games. Sorry, but I have to defend my team’s record. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/32 "2008-10-05T06:27:28Z")
Son of a bitch! Twice in two years! Nl central champs, then made monkeys in 3 games by a west coast team. You lousy, no good, bumbling cocksuckers! Beat. By the fucking dodgers. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. Buncha 3rd string little leaguers. Tell you what, just fucking stay in california you assholes, we don’t want your asses back here until spring. Motherfuckers. Go cubs. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/33 "2008-10-05T14:39:16Z")
Sorry, Cubs fans. This Dodger fan would have been rooting for you guys to take it if it couldn’t have been us. My step-dad was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs and is probably none to pleased today. The family happens to be getting to dinner tonight and I am sure that my sister, bro in law and I will be razzing him a bit. I was born and raised in L.A. My dad and his dad were born and raised in Brooklyn. Dad went to Dodger games in the 40’s with his dad. My grandfather, who died before I was born, went to Dodger games from the very earliest days. My nephew is a fourth generation Dodger fan and has never seen them win it all. This could be the year. They’re hot at just the right time. Go Bums! ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/34 "2008-10-05T15:22:21Z")
Even though they lost, the Cubs still had a winning season. Congrats for that Cubbies. Your 97 wins beats the 63 for my team. ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/35 "2008-10-05T15:34:00Z")
> [@buttonjockey308](#): > > Son of a bitch! Twice in two years! Nl central champs, then made monkeys in 3 games by a west coast team. Would you rather have had the Mets’ last 2 years? I think it’s a legit question. I can’t say I’d have been much happier if the Mets hadn’t made it out of the first round of playoffs for 2 years, but at least you have somewhat more hope for the future (ie, short seasons being at least partially a crapshoot) and 2 pennants. It does suck to miss out on that 100-year symmetry thing. I’ll bet a lot of Tommy Lasorda’s stuck-in-a-tree people (are they still running that commercial?) are tuning out now that the best postseason story has been taken away from them. Oh, and to address the initial OP directed at the fans, Shea Stadium sure went out with a whimper. I think after last year many fans expected them to blow it. They would have been better off with Tom Seaver on the mound in an actual game. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/36 "2008-10-05T16:26:27Z")
> [@Ichbin\_Dubist](#): > > Oh, and to address the initial OP directed at the fans, Shea Stadium sure went out with a whimper. I think after last year many fans expected them to blow it. They would have been better off with Tom Seaver on the mound in an actual game. The way the beginning of the season went, I was amazed the Mets even got that close. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/37 "2008-10-05T17:10:17Z")
From an Indians fan to all Cubs fans, I feel your pain. I really do. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/38 "2008-10-05T22:26:41Z")
This Mariners fan was rooting for the Cubs. Ah well. Go Rays! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/39 "2008-10-06T02:50:45Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > but I thought the thing that allegedly made Cubs fans special was that they didn’t bother with this kind of angst. Yeah, I think you misunderstand Cub fandom. We now have 100 years of pent-up angst. Trust me, we’re sick of this shit. I suppose we’ll still show up to support our team, but we really are sick of this shit. On the other hand, being a Cubs fan prepares you with coping mechanisms for colossal failures in your life. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155/40 "2008-10-06T03:04:49Z")
If it had been any other year, I would have wanted the Cubs to at least have a shot. But not this year. It’s the Dodger’s 50th Anniversary in LA, and that means we have to win it all. Sweep every opponent in the playoffs. No mercy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubs-fans-wtf-was-that/466155.md?page=1)