Eternal Optimism: Cubs Fandoms’ Curse

By: Arthur Caron

As the Cubs usher in a new season at Wrigley Field this Friday, April 4th, for the home-opener, a seemingly endless list of discussions and questions remain on the tip of all fans’ tongues. 

Will player X bounce back? Can anybody in the bullpen get three stress-free outs? etc

As a lifelong Cubs fan, I’ve learned to balance the seemingly lurking dread and over-the-top optimism that helped shape my fandom. With that, I’d like to peel back the curtain and give you a glimpse of me and my love for the Cubs. 

I was born in 1987 and some of my first memories are at Wrigley Field watching the Cubs and the Colorado Rockies in 1995. I’ve been through the home run chase of ’98, and I remember watching Kerry Wood strike out 20 on a 16-inch TV after school. He quickly became one of my favorite players and I had the honor of meeting him a few times, including on the 25th Anniversary of his amazing game (pictured below).

I’m such a big Cubs fan that the last time the Cubs opened the season in Tokyo in 2000, I woke up at 4 a.m., and snuck into the living room to watch the games on school days. 

During high school in 2003, I would use the school computers to watch the GameCast of the 1:20 p.m. games during Study Hall. I’ll be the first to admit that was a mistake, but I wouldn’t do it any differently. Later that year, I recorded Game 6 of the NLCS, then taped over it with Game 7 the next night. I wish I could find that tape now.

I was so excited when the Cubs signed one of my favorite players before the 2004 season, Greg Maddux. I was too young to enjoy his first stint, and I thought his addition to the young guns of Wood, Prior, and Zambrano would bring success. It was then that my first-ever article was published in Media Class during my Junior year of High School. It was titled “Cubs Set to Win with Maddux”. It was only in my high school paper but it was the only non-school-related sports story they published that semester and It was framed in my grandma’s office – even though she knew nothing about baseball. I was sure they were going to break the curse, but that dream was gone after a September collapse and a smashed boombox. 

As I grew up and became more aware and content with the fact that the Cubs were indeed “Lovable Losers”, I was resigned to my fate. If they were in contention after August, it was a welcome bonus. In 2007 and 2008, the team was on fire and was led by my favorite Cubs manager, “Sweet” Lou Pinella. However, they couldn’t get over the hump in the playoffs, not winning a game in either year. 

A lot of losing (on purpose) followed and then 2014 happened. The losing was beginning to bear the fruits with the Cubs having 8 prospects in the top 100. It was more enjoyable to go over to Kane County (Single A) to see the guys that might help break the curse and years of heartache. 

That’s when I first laid eyes on my favorite player of my adulthood, Kyle Schwarber. The stocky catcher was a hitting machine and former 1st round pick. I remember when they drafted him and the analysis was that he was the best pure hitter in the draft. I envisioned a dominant lineup of Castro, Rizzo, Bryant, and Schwarber for the next 10 years and multiple titles. 

The Cubs signed the bulldog lefty Jon Lester to go with the newly hired Joe Maddon, who brought fun to the park every day. As quirky as Maddon was, he was a winner. He brought the lowly Tampa Bay Rays to a World Series, and his eccentric attitude and fun-loving personality helped usher in the most successful run of Cubs baseball since the end of World War II. 

Making the Playoffs in 2015 and winning the 2016 World Series, I was awaiting the titanic World Series collision for the next 3-5 years between the Cubs and the upstart Houston Astros in the American League. That was not to be, however, as 2017 was a slog and a quick extraction of revenge in the NLCS by the Dodgers whom the Cubs beat handily in the 2016 NLCS. 

In 2018, the Cubs lost a “win and get in” tie-breaker at Wrigley on back-to-back nights to Milwaukee for the Division then to Colorado in the Wild Card to completely waste an MVP runner-up season by Javy Baez. 

To me, that’s when the writing was on the ivy-covered wall. The team was getting older, heroes of the past were moving on, and I was resigned to the fact that it wasn’t meant to be a dynasty, but just a one-and-done title (which I think any Cubs fan will take). 

However, there was always that empty feeling of that’s it? That core, under cost control and with some of the most impactful Cubs players this side of prime Sammy Sosa, didn’t advance in the playoffs since 2017. That same core only won the division one more time in 2020, in which they were swept at home by the Miami Marlins. 

Trading the core of the 2016 team in one season took a bit out of me as a fan. Anthony Rizzo was the Captain and, at one point, tried to fight the entire Cincinnati Reds team.

Kris Bryant was the boy wonder, the number 2 pick in the 2013 draft, the 2013 Golden Spikes Award (Best College Player), 2014 Minor League Player of the Year, 2015 NL ROY, 2016 NL MVP, and World Series champion. 

His career started the best possible way, but he couldn’t recapture the magic of those first few seasons. Although he was still hitting over 20 homers each year, the RBIs were down to the 70s from nearly 100 in those early years. I wasn’t shocked when he was traded as the Cubs were out of the playoffs, but I always pictured him as our version of Chipper Jones, being productive from one era to the next. He’s been unlucky with his health since he signed with Colorado and I would want to see him have just one more season of prime Kris Bryant before age and injuries zap that once-youthful attitude that the fun-loving Cubs team of the mid-2010’s had in spades.

Lastly, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention “El Mago”, Javy Baez, who was part of the most ridiculous plays I’ve ever seen. 

Trading those three cogs of the 2016 team midway through 2021 helped me understand, admittedly later that I should have, that pessimism and optimism are to be replaced with reality and coming to terms with the fact that teams don’t last together forever anymore. MLB is a business and players, along with owners, have their agendas. 

A new dose of youthful optimism has washed over the organization with uber-prospect, Matt Shaw, who debuted at 3rd to start the year, and 6 other prospects in the MLB Pipeline Top 100, as well. All of the talk about prospects and the acquisition of Kyle Tucker has me the most excited that I have been as a fan, and now a writer, since late 2014 the second half in which they finished 36-35, fans saw a glimpse of the future fruits of the last 4 years of losing and were sure of the success that was to come. It eventually did, but we long-suffering fans wanted more. As the old shirts said “Just One Before I Die”, we as fans were just fine with seeing something that hadn’t happened since before World War 1. However, there was always a nagging feeling of what could have been. 

So let’s put any negative feelings aside and just enjoy this current youthful era of Cubs baseball. Nothing is guaranteed to be the same with this roster or perhaps baseball in general as another strike/work stoppage seems on the horizon after the 2026 season when MLB’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire. We all live and die with this team, and as a fan, there isn’t anything better than a 1:20 game at Wrigley on a bright sun-splashed day. I took the last successful era for granted and was left wanting more. I couldn’t help but be frustrated when it ended. I grew up bleeding Cubbie blue and have been behind the team through thick and thin, for better or worse. It helped shape my life and the person I’ve become. 

Since I’ve shared my story, we’d love to hear yours! How’d you become a fan? Who were your favorite players? What are your favorite memories from your fandom? Who from this current team is your favorite?