John Mark Hicks Ministries

Time for some “tongue-in-cheek” …. My ten reasons why the Chicago Cubs will return to the World Series for the first time since 1945 and win it for the first time since 1908.

10.  The Cubs won nine straight games on the road which is something they have not done since 1945.

9.  The Cubs winning percentage reached above .630 for the first time since 1945 (when they had .636).

8.  The Cubs won nine straight series for the first time since 1907–a year they also won the World Series.

7. The Cubs reached 35 games above .500 this season for the first time since 1945 (not there now, however!).

6. There is no superstar or assured Hall of Famer on the Cubs team–it is a team and not a one or two man show!  (Though a team they are nevertheless a team of millionaries!)

5. The Cubs have the longest championship drought among professional teams in the US.

4.  They are America’s team–midwestern, true blue…and America only likes winners, right?  Even when they only win every 100 years.

3.  The goat died a long time ago, all the black cats in Chicago have been quarantined, and Bartman will not be allowed in Wrigley this time.

2. I will not watch any more Cub games on TV since every game I have watched in its entirely or most of it they lost!  When I watch, they lose.  So, I won’t watch….maybe.

1.  There is a benevolent God!

Ok, maybe the “God” thing is over the top….but…..I look unto the hills from whence my help cometh….it is the only hope for the Chicago Cubs, my lovable losers. 

I wanted to do this before the Cubs actually blow it. 

Ultimately, it is just a game and is meaningless in terms of my participation in the kingdom of God.  But it is recreational, fun and fits in with my “theology of play.”

Why did ESPN.com do it?  They headlined the Chicago Cubs with “Catch Them If You Can”!

I can feel another jinx in the works.  Somebody is going to show up with a goat at Wrigley and be refused a seat as in 1945.  Or, there will be another Bartman.

But “catch them if you can”….give me a break.  It is better to be silent like we are waiting out a no hitter by not talking to the pitcher and letting him sit alone in the corner so that we don’t disturb the forces in the universe.

“Catch them if you can”?  These are the Chicago Cubs.  They know how to blow a lead.

Today they are 75-47 with a 5.5 game lead over the Brewers, but on August 16 of 1969 they were 75-44 with a nine game lead…and all Cubs fans know what happened next.  They lost it.  They finished the season with a September record of 9-19 while the “Amazin’ Mets” went 23-7. The Mets finished eight games ahead of the Cubs in their division! The Mets went to the series instead of the Cubs after sweeping the Braves in the playoff round (just like the Cubs just sweept the Braves this week!).

By the way, Lou Pinnella–now manager of the Cubs–won Rookie of the Year in 1969! Is that an omen or what?

I remember the Cubs collapse like it was yesterday.  I was a tender-aged twelve years old when the baseball “gods” broke my young heart that year.

Am I excited this year?  I’m trying not to be.  I don’t want to set myself up for a fall.  Low expectations may receive great reward but high expectations bring tragic disappointments.

But it is hard not to be excited, especially when the Cubs keep winning and in dramatic fashion….like a three run homer in the ninth last night against Florida to extend their road winning streak to nine games. It is the longest streak since they were last in the World Series in 1945.

Ok…I’m excited; I’m ready for a Cubs World Series at least once in my lifetime, and God surely has sufficient grace to give Cubs fans a World Series win every 100 years, right? We can only hope as we Cubs fans have been doing since 1945 (their last appearance) and 1908 (their last Series victory).

We may feed on the lamentable antics of the Chicago Cubs for the past 100 years, but everyone has to give us Cubs fans at least one credit — we may be misguided, but at least we are loyal!

Hey, the Cubs have won more games than any other franchise in history except the San Francisco (New York) Giants…over 10,000! But, alas, no World Series since 1908.

So, I give my voice to the cry that pleads for at least one World Series victory every 100 years.