One Graham Army Podcast

Understanding that not one person will read these blog posts, I have been hesitant to post them at all.  However, in the interest of proving to myself and Griff that anything worth doing is worth doing right, I will make an attempt to post more often.

Today is opening day for Major League Baseball and as a life long Cubs fan the event conjures up a kaleidoscope of childhood memories that now blend together with the more recent memory of the Cubs finally winning the World Series.  For the first time since the start of the 1909 season, the Cubs are the defending world champions.  Unless you are 120 years old you have no frame of reference for that reality.

All baseball fans now live in a reality that prior to the 2nd of November 2016, was virtually unimaginable.  I have a pretty damn vivid imagination and even I did not know exactly what to expect from that glorious day.  What I failed to contemplate is what the world would be like on the opening day after hell froze over.  I’ve spent an embarrassing amount of time mulling over how I would react to the burial of the goat.  On every opening day since I was able to have conscious thoughts, I imagined that year’s team doing the impossible and bringing a title to the north side, regardless of how awful that season’s roster appeared.  Never did I wonder what baseball would mean the following season.  I do not miss the losing but I can’t help but feel that Cubs nation has been slightly diluted by the event and the inevitable flood of band wagoners and LeBron fans that come along with winning a championship.  As Cubs fans we expect a certain level of respect for our suffering and loyalty but in this brave new world, I have no idea what we expect from other baseball fans.  Time will tell how we will be received as we drunkenly flaunt our world series trophy emblazoned garb at baseball stadiums across the country and the memories of heart ache and losing blur and fall away.  I guess my biggest fear is that we become Red Sox fans and forget the losing and behave like entitled Cardinals fans.  Undoubtedly, the celebration that began late on that November night in Cleveland last year will outlast this season and the next (even in the face of repeat championships) but I encourage Cubs nation to remember what made us awesome in the first place and continue to enjoy baseball and the Cubs like we always have, by living in the moment.  Even if the wait is over.

Happy Opening Day, America.

-Graham