Could THIS Be The Year?!?

Come on, we all know that at one time or another, we have hoped the Chicago Cubs would do something GREAT!  No?  You haven’t?  Well, you may be one of a few. 

The Chicago Cubs have become a punch line to many jokes over the years.  And rightfully so.  Although I am a die-hard fan, I too have made several jokes about the hopeless(?) team.    I will never forget the evening I was relaxing with my husband watching an episode of Scrubs when the Janitor turned to J.D. and asked, “How depressing is it to be you, really?  Would you equate it to being a life-long Cub fan or being born without lips?”  I laughed.   Life-long Cub fan = Life-long disappointment. 

My dad grew up in South-Side Chicago.  So this love I have for the Cubs has been passed down through the generations.  My grandparents have actually decorated their home in Chicago Cubs paraphernalia.  To watch baseball is to watch the Cubs.  Oh, and also to have a deep loathing of the St. Louis Cardinals.

But seriously guys, when is enough going to be enough?  Chicago, New York and Boston have the LARGEST fan base in Major League Baseball.  So how is it that only two of those three have winning seasons?  The last time the Cubs did anything somewhat spectacular was in 2007 when they made it to National League Central Division Champions…only to lose shortly thereafter.  But that still prompted fanfare for the beginning of the 2008 season marking 100 years since they had won the World Series!  Maybe since they did make it that far the previous season that THIS would be the year?!  Uh…No. 

Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) even wrote a theme song that rightfully fits the heart and mindset of every true, devoted Cub fan.  It was released September 2008 during the “100 Years Since” season.  It is titled, “Someday We’ll Go All The Way”.  It captures the hopeful thoughts of each Ivy-Walled fan that one day they will return to the World Series and win it once and for all. 

And so we are beginning a new season.  A new season that brings with it new possibilities to make it to the World Series.  A season that ignites a new hope in each fan.  A season that will undoubtedly have Chicago fans yelling at their TVs and throwing objects across their living room.  But you better believe that at the end of the day, WE resilient Cub fans will still wear our colors proud.  And we will start each season with our hope imbedded in each of us that maybe THIS year we will go all the way!

Why I Hate The Jazz

“HATE” really is a strong word. And to be honest, hating them is really all in fun. But those Utah Jazz have it coming.


It all started one evening while I was in my third trimester. (For those of you who have no clue what that means, I was pregnant. VERY pregnant.) And I decided to try to impress my husband with sports knowledge. I know he is a huge sports enthusiast and knows pretty much all there is to know about sports. So I thought he would find it sexy if his wife could impress him with a little sports trivia. I decided to plan it all out in my head before I bring him my array of knowledge and blow his socks off.

Who are the four teams in the NBA whose name does NOT end in ‘S’?

So I started my mental gathering of facts: Alright, this should be easy. Thunder, my favorite. Love those guys. Good boys. Great teamwork. What a game tonight! Man, Kevin is really in the running for MVP! Wait, focus Amy. Back to teams here! Okay…umm… Heat. Miami Heat. Ugh. I do NOT like them. Who else? Magic! Orlando Magic! Oh yeah, I’m killing this! My husband is going to be so proud. And the final one……is……… IS……… come on, Amy!

Then… the time on the clock started going by. 1 am. 2 am. Need I remind you how pregnant I am? Sleep has been an issue these last couple of weeks. I had a big day the next day at church and I was still wide awake refusing to Google this answer. Tick tock, tick tock. 3 am. Heat, Thunder, Magic, AND…blank. Who is it?? HeatThunderMagicAnd. It started to be one word in my head repeated over and over. There my husband lay, sound asleep, having no idea that I am wide awake simply trying to impress him with knowledge that really doesn’t matter!

Here comes 4 am and I am starting to think that the person who came up with this trivia question was wrong. We are all human. It’s okay to be wrong sometimes, Trivia Guy. There is not a fourth team. There’s only three and I am blaming you for my lack of sleep! Okay, I’m sorry, Sir. I’m just irritated and overwhelmingly exhausted. And determined. I WILL come up with the answer.

5 AM. At this point, my alarm is going off in an hour and a half. and I haven’t had one second of sleep. There’s a team in Canada right? Maybe its them. Maybe I can write the owner and tell them to do a public service by chopping the ‘S’ off of Raptors by morning so that I can get a little sleep and still impress my husband. No? Crap. Is my husband really worth this? I mean he IS snoring. And he is legally bound to me by marriage AND I am carrying his child. So he better find me sexy whether or not I know the answer to this question. Wait, he doesn’t even know I am doing this! I should just go to sleep and not worry about it any more.


5:02 AM. Nope. Not going to sleep. WHO IS THAT FOURTH TEAM!?! I have gone over every team geographically, alphabetically, and I have thought of every major city in the US to decide if they have an NBA team or not. (Which made me wonder why St. Louis isn’t jumping on the ball here?) Heat. Thunder. Magic. AND WHO?!!? Okay. I give up. I’m just going to wake my husband up and let him know what I have gone through for him.

“Psst... Shawn! Hey baby, wake up! I need your help!” This was humbling. “You see, I was trying to impress you. And I wanted you to find me sexy for knowing some sports knowledge…But I’m stuck. And I haven’t slept all night. Who is the fourth team?? I have the Miami Heat, OKC Thunder, Orlando Magic, but who is the fourth team in the NBA that doesn’t end in ‘S’?”

“…Jazz.”

I hate the Jazz.