The Home Stretch: My Wife and Her Cubbies

I caught about 6 innings of the Cubs game with the Giants today, which they ultimately lost 5-1. The Cubs are my National League team as they are my wife's team. I would forgive you for forgetting that the Orioles were once a great team but everyone who knows anything about baseball knows the Cubbies' sob story. With today's loss, the chances of making the playoffs fade just a little bit more and with them, a shot at ending the 101-year-long World Series drought. They're 6.5 games out with 7 to play. If the Rockies win and/or the Cubs lose on Tuesday, it's just wait until next year all over again.

For me, the Cubs have always seemed my best shot at drawing my wife into my sports interests. She calls herself a Cubs fan. She's certainly a fan of the brand: a sticker on her car and a plastic beer mug. She even gave me a t-shirt. But in reality, I think she mostly likes the Cubs because they remind her of Chicago. She used to live near Wrigley. She doesn't actually like to watch the games, you see. She thinks of them as a great opportunity to take a nap, even believing that if she watches, they're sure to lose. That's the funny part to me. She wants them to win. She just doesn't want to have to watch.

Nonetheless, I think I have a shot if they ever make it back to the World Series. Even today, she looked up from War and Peace a couple of times to cheer an extra-base hit by the Cubs or boo a single by the Giants. Will she ever be a summer-long fan? I am quite sure the answer is no. But someday, I hold out hope that we'll find ourselves watching a game together in late October and she'll have more than a passing interest.