I am a die hard Cubs fan and have been for more than 40 years, (yeah that clues you in to just how old and decrepit I am). Hopefully Bartman is out of our lives forever and this is the year for the favorite downtrodden team of all professional sports to finally earn a championship banner.

I mean come on if the Red Sox and White Sox can shake there curse and win a Major League World Championship, surely it is time for the Cubs to take that pennant!!! I mean 99 years of heart break after heart break (no I am not that old to remember the last championship) is it not time and well overdue for us CUBS to win?

It is really all my Mom’s fault (God rest her soul)! When I was just a young wee lad, my Dad took us to our first ever Cubs game, yes both me and my mother. We set behind Third base and watched Ron Santo and Ernie Banks play in beautiful Wrigley field and my or my mothers life were never the same again. When we weren’t able to make it to the games Mom would have WGN tuned in on the Television watching the game and keeping score in her notebook. She became almost fanatical. I had never seen my mom become so obsessed by something other than her family. And there I was all innocent and not knowing any better than to support and root for a team that was destined for contentment to stay out of the pennant races.

Oh we had our moments and players that we loved to watch. Ernie Banks will always be the best First Baseman in my eyes. Our recent flirtation with the almost great Sammy Sosa, (Sammy you ripped out our hearts and then laughed in our face) Oh the agony of defeat once again. Please, please tell me it is over, that we have suffered enough! we don’t want to be the goat (pun intended) anymore!

I have to believe that Carlos Zambrano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano will lead us to the holy land. I don’t know if I can take it if we should fail this go round. Please all you Cubby Fans get down on your knees and ask the good lord to bless the Windy City with another championship team in the same decade. Besides we all know that though the White Sox’s were Champions for a few days, that the city of Chicago lives and breaths Cub fever. The Bulls are just a memory and the Lake Shore could sure use a little pick me up. Come on if the Saints can have a winning season and almost make it to the big dance, then why not our Cubbies!

Here I will rest and wait for tonights game. I ponder what my Mom would have thought and how she would have had pencil and paper handy to keep track of the score and stats. Maybe that’s it, she is up there right now bending the good Lords ear telling him just what needs to be done; Tomorrow Headlines “Cubs Win”!