I’m not a Chicago Cubs fan, per se. But, I tend to cheer for underdogs. And the Cubs have been underdogs in almost every baseball game they’ve played as far back as I can remember.
And now, they’re in the World Series, tied 1-1 with the Cleveland Indians.
The Cubs held the Indians to a draw in enemy territory (Cleveland), and now they head back to their home field (Wrigley) for the next 3 games. Things are looking positive for the Cubs, and my reaction is that it would be cool if the “Lovable Losers”, as they have come to be known, manage to win the whole enchilada.
But, there’s a whole population of people out there who absolutely hate the Cubs with a putrid, green hatred that can only be called pathological. Consider this article in today’s USA TODAY SPORTS section — Cubs as ‘Lovable Losers’? Or just losers?
The gist of their hatred seems to be that the Cubs were a lousy team for 100 years, so they don’t deserve to be a good team now. That’s pathological.
As much as the Cubs [I]team[/I] is hated, Cubs [I]fans[/I] are hated even more. Cubs fans have a reputation for being loud-mouthed, unruly, working-class ruffians. Okay, I get that. But, that just means that Cubs fans are [I]slightly less vile than most of the soccer fans in the world.[/I] So, hating the Cubs for their rough-around-the-edges fans — with the foaming-at-the-mouth hatred displayed currently in social media — is, well, pathological.
Anyway, the Cubs actually have the chance to sweep a 3-game home-stand, winning the best-of-7-game World Series in 5 games. If that happens, I can’t imagine the sort of vitriol the Cubs-haters will pour out on social media and on the internet.
Game 3 will be played tonight in Chicago. Go Cubs!
Update (early Thursday morning, November 3): The Cubs battled the Indians to a dead-even tie
— 3 wins each, and a score of 6-6 after 9 innings in Game 7. The game went into extra innings,
and the Cubs won Game 7 — and the World Series — 8-7 in the 10th inning. Congratulations, Cubs!
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