Published: May 05, 2008 05:03 pm            

Ms. Takes: Cubs fans are the picture of loyalty

My Best Friend bought a book the other day with the intriguing title “Your Brain on Cubs.” We are taking turns with it and hope it won’t tell us we are brain dead!

We discussed the phenomenon of fandom the other day. Back in the glory days of professional baseball — while it was still a game — there were eight teams in the National League and eight in the American League. It was easy to keep track of and teams didn’t jump from city to city although the “Senators” left Washington and the “Athletics” left Philadelphia.

Travel being what it was, there wasn’t much of anything west of St. Louis. Before air travel teams got to the host ballpark by bus or train which pretty much left out New York traveling to the West Coast with an overnight (make that a couple of overnights) on the train. Rivalry sprung up between cities close enough together that the fans rather overlapped — like the Cubs and the Cardinals.

Then teams began proliferating. Air travel became common about the time Los Angeles and San Francisco developed a civic yen to have more than radio contact with an East Coast team. They wanted their own team and a part of Major League Baseball. Besides, there were all those aspiring millionaires — potential owners and players — who wanted a piece of the action, including a bigger return on the hot dog concession.

So we now have two leagues and also divisions within each league. That means endless playoff games. The World Series was once played before the first frost. Now it can last into November.

My BF refers to himself as “one of the oldest living Cubs fans”. He toddled to his first game at Wrigley Field. It wasn’t just the ivy-covered walls, it was the whole mystique of the day and the park and the game which made a lasting impression. He has followed the Cubs through thick and thin ever since. It has been more famine than feast, but he has remained loyal.

Early and prolonged exposure to a team is what builds fans. These new and transferred teams need time to build a fan base and for now they demand a winner.

Meanwhile, we are taking turns with our book and hope it won’t tell us that our brains are already fried.



Liz Ciancone is a retired

Tribune-Star reporter. Send e-mail to opinion@tribstars.com.

        

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