Chicago is a town of many local legends; more so I think than even New York.  You may argue that, but as far as legends go, we have Bachelor Grove, the most haunted cemetery in the country; we have The Italian Bride, who was dug up seven years after she was buried only to be found not to have decomposed a bit, we have Al Capone and John Dillinger.  I have personally stood on the spots where both the St. Valentines Day Massacre and the FBI ambush of Dillinger took place.  My favorite by far though, is the Billy Goat's Curse.

  1945 was a good year for the Cubs.  Those familiar with the team with the longest World Series dry spell in baseball history may be able to tell you that in the first half of the last century, it wasn’t so.  Sixteen times they had been to the series and in 45 they had their 17th chance to win it.

   Local restaurant and bar owner Billy ‘Goat’ Sianis was local flavor to the max.  He had achieved success with his bar, the Billy Goat Tavern, underneath the Wrigley building on the lower level of Wacker drive.  If you remember from the early days of Saturday Night Live, John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd did a skit about two immigrant restaurant owners that was immensely popular.  That skit was based on the Billy Goat.  To this day, when you go in (as I do whenever I get a chance), you will be welcomed by the sounds of ‘Cheeseborger, Cheeseborger, Cheeseborger, No Pepsi, Coke!  Wherever Billy went, you could see him accompanied by his goat. The goat went everywhere Billy did, including the 1945 World Series.  Not wanting to be denied, Billy bought a ticket for himself and the goat and went in.  Eventually Jack Wrigley, who owned the Cubs, told someone ‘Get that goat out of here, it stinks’

   Angered, Billy cursed the Cubs, saying that never again would they win a world series.  Everyone laughed at Billy then, but no one is laughing now.  It has been 58 years since the Cubs have been in a series.  Twice, the Sianis family has tried to remove the curse.  Billy went to his grave refusing to let it go.  The last time was in 1989 when Billy’s nephew Sam brought a goat to Wrigley Field and tried to remove it then.  That year, the Cubs made it to the playoff’s but still lost out.  Last week, some Cubs fans took a goat to Texas to try to curse the opposing team so the Cubs would win.  They did.

    And now, the Cubs are in first place.  They look to have a very good chance of breaking the curse, and going all the way to the series.  To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I want them to.  As they are now, the Cubbies have a certain distinction.  Their fans are loyal to them, not because they win games, but because they are good people.  Should they win, they’ll become just another team.  If history is any teacher, the team owners will demand a new stadium to replace Wrigley Field, one of the greateast monuments to Baseball there is.  The team players will be sold off, and it will all be about winning series again.  I’m not so sure that’s a good thing.  In winning, the Cubs will lose the thing that makes them so special to their fans.  Character.


The Billy Goat Tavern

It's not that I'm rooting for them to lose.  It's just that for three generations now, the Cubs have been the team that Chicagoans took to their heart.  Not because they won, but because they're our Cubbies.  I have never seen a Cubs World Series, neither has my father.  That a team could do that and still remain popular is the mark of something special.  If they do go all the way, that something will be gone.

No Fries... Chip!   Hey, you get double right?

Anyone doubt the curse now?

The fan that interfered with that catch had to be escorted from the stadium in secrecy...

If Moises had caught it and Gonzalez hadn't screwed up that would have been 3 outs and Florida never would have had the chance for that rally.  There is a good chance that the first distracted Gonzalez enough to cause the second.  Not to mention, the effect on morale that catch would have given the Cubs.  From the looks of things, if these guys don't win there won't be anymore 'lovable losers' title for the Cubs anymore.  People are tired of the Cubs losing and to blow it now would be a serious blow to the fans.  

As much as I want to, I can't say the Marlins are an inferior team.  Pudge and Castillo are simply fantastic players.  Pudge Rodriquez is batting .500 for the post season.  When is the last time you saw anyone bat .500 anywhere?  The Cubs blew it.  Plain and simple.

BTW, I no longer have any doubt.  I want the Cubs to win too.

I saw that game last night. OMG, me and my entire family went wild when the Marlins beat the Cubs at 8-3. Incredible.

That's why I'm a Marlins fan. Those people have a special ability called "surprises". They love to make to make their enemy suffer at the last innings. Hmmhmmhmm

I don't that Cubs fan (who screwed up the catch) was the only one who caused the Cubs to lose.

Did you see that Cubs player screwed up the catch on the right field? It bounced off his head just to remind him where the hell the ball is. LOL

Did you see that other cubs player who also screwd up the catch on the left field (not the one next to that Cubs fan). He tried catching the ball with his hand set backwards. Dumb move.

Then came that fan who screwed up that catch. Believe it or not, there were 3 errors made by the players before that fan. The 3rd error was when the 1st-baseman tried to recieve the ball, but the ball when below his glove and between his legs. So, if Juan Pierre ever noticed earlier about the error, he would have ran to 2nd base.

My dad always said - "According to the rulebook, for every error there is a hit. And it always worked, no matter what." Those 3 errors (plus 1) where the sign, then came the 8 runs in a row by the Marlins. How do like thEm apples. LOL