So what happens to all the shirts, jerseys, sweats, jackets and whatnot shipped to stores for the loosing team that never shows up on the shelves?

 

They're given to World Vision. Imagine a kid who has never had clean, much less, new clothes to wear receiving a brand new baseball shirt in the package. The kids love them, and believe me, they're proud to wear the American teams!

 

Support World Vision: http://www.tomruby.com

 

The Marathon is next weekend. I switch between confidence and dread about 3 times per hour

Tom,

 

Good luck with the marathon.  Be very careful to take in a lot of water.  I assume you are wearing shoes.  Last year's Chicago marathon was held the same day as the Milwaukee Lakeshore marathon.  Hot Hot and more Hot.  Even though I thought I had hydrated well, I had major problems that landed me in the hospital for an overnight stay.  NOT fun.  Hopefully, the Chicago marathon will be better executed this year.

 

Mark

 

PS.  I hope they save at least one jersey for the goat.  He gets mad, you know.

 

Steve Goodman wrote and performed this song some years ago. He was also the writer of a song some of ya'll may have heard called "City of New Orleans" (Arlo Guthrie performed and recorded it). Ironically he was diagnosed with Leukemia just before his career really started to take off. He died just 11 days before the Chicago Cubs played their first playoff game in Wrigley Field since 1945 on September 20th 1984. There are few things in life you are born to be but being a Cub fan is one of them. Lose or win I will proclaim loudly that I am and have always been a Cub fan. Also participated in that right of passage by skipping school to get to Wrigley at 7am for seats in the Bleachers. They were once sold first come first serve and only available on the day of the game. There was no such thing as a "reserved seat" in the Bleachers. Unfortunately I never was able to sit in the left field Bleachers to gain the title of a "Bleacher Bum". Downed more than a beer or two there as well.

This may seem, uh... argumentative or even insulting, but I have a serious question...

 

Suppose that ALL the Chicago Cubs players were traded for all the Los Angeles Angels players and then the Cubs and the Angels were to play a game... who would your root for?

 

To further complicate matters, suppose these new Cubs players were to don St. Louis Cardinal's uniforms when they take the field and the Angels players were to wear, say New York Yankee's uniforms... then who would you root for?

 

Suppose the game were played at the White Sox stadium?

 

Is it the name of the team that you are loyal to or the players or the park or what?

 

I used to have my favourite teams, back a long time ago when I was a kid, but professional and college sports and even high school and grade school games have become something that I detest any more. In an attempt to keep my humor about it, I have stated more than once that I will never spend money on any of them because I don't want to be known as an "athletic supporter" but i am still confused as to the fanatic loyalty that some teams receive.

 

I have a certain "loyalty" to Aster Live Steam Gauge 1 Locomotives, but if the engines I paid so much for fell apart or otherwise were junk and not worth what I paid for them I doubt if my "loyalty" would last very long.

 

Just as this reply may seem the same.

The fact that you asked and posed such an unplausable scenario.......an answer, although almost impossible to provide under that scenario, if I were to provide one you wouldn't understand nor ever will.

 

 

But what the heck. First off I've always believed that song said what most of us as Cub fans always felt. But still I'd probably been to a hundred games at Wrigley from 1967 to 1991. Heck I even saw a football game or two there as well (the Bears and a team I am a fan of til this day as well). I have a 1969 Wrigley Field Program that I wish to God would have been signed by the Chicago Cubs but since we lived next door to Al Weis it was signed by the NY Mets. Such is life. I also spent a good many years in Atlanta. The first few were when the Braves were in the Cellar. Still went to games especially when the Cubs came to town. Sat there rooting for the Cubs then  again there were more Cub fans in the stands than there were Braves fans in those days. Then in the 90's the Braves got hot. Just because I lived in Atlanta I wnet to the games and rooted for the Braves. Yet when the Cubs came to town I pulled for the Cubs. No I wasn't a fair weather Braves fan because I was always a Cubs fan.  

 

Being a Cub fan is siomething that cannot be explained or summarized. Chicago is a big city and the team has had many players over the years. All of the players that provided me entertainment are long gone. Long since retired but that does not dimish my desire for the team to succeed. It's the idea of the team and being part of something bigger than just a baseball club. 

 

In all honesty back in 1994 is the "day the music died" for me and baseball. The strike! I have never picked up where I left off in my love of the game. I glance at things to see what's going on but haven't ever recovered. I never dressed up in Cubbie Blue or painted my face for the game. I'm just a fan not a fanatic. 

 

So I guess I could say that it was once about the players and the team but it has always been about the team.

 

It's kinda like Patriotism. Nothing is as it once was but it's the idea behind things that keeps me stirred up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brings a tear to the eyes.

Charles,

 

I strongly recommend you rent and sit through the entire movie "Baseket Ball".  Sure, it was written by the guys who created the cartoon "South Park" and some might call the humor crude or stupid, but I liked it, and the cynic in you might as well.

 

As for the Philly cheesesteaks vs the Dodger Dog,  I don't think there's much comparision.  Cheesesteaks beat hot dogs any day of the week, but especially on Thursdays.