Opinion: Cubs fans have nothing on Cleveland when it comes to suffering by Bruce Bain

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 2, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) Chicago Cub mania is sweeping the country. The baseball electoral map is all blue except for the red state of Ohio.

Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. It’s suddenly cool to love the lovable losers. Finally, the Curse of the Goat will be broken tonight. Destiny will hand the Chicago Cubs its first World Series in 108 years.

But there is just one little thing standing in the way of destiny: a very good Cleveland Indians team, full of talented players and an exceptional manager. So no, my dear Cubbies fans, you have to earn it. Destiny, fate and the fickle baseball gods don’t just hand out World Series rings like Halloween candy.

Trust me, I know. I’m a lifelong Red Sox fan. I’ve suffered. I have the scars to prove it. You Cubs fans don’t know true anguish. You have to almost get there and then have it yanked (pun intended) away from you to fully understand anguish. 

The Cubs never really get that close. You might have to suffer a little longer. You’ll be OK — you’ve got a young, talented team built for the long haul.

The Red Sox had their own curse, started when the Bambino himself was sold to the Damn Yankees after the 1918 World Series. Since then, the Sox lost the 1946 Series in seven games, and the 1967 Series in, yep, seven games. 

And then we get into the ones that I can actually recall – 1975, in seven games, the one game playoff in 1978 when Yankee Bucky (Bleeping) Dent broke New England’s collective heart with a late homer, sending the Sox home for the winter; then in 1986 World Series, when the ball rolled though Bill Buckner’s legs propelling the Met’s into a game seven, which they eventually won. The 2003 American League Division Series brought more heartache as Aaron (Bleeping) Boone hit an extra inning homer, once again sending the cursed Red Sox and their fandom home, shaking their heads. That is a chronicle of true suffering.

Finally in 2004, the self-proclaimed “idiots” didn’t know any better, and stormed back from an impossible 0-3 deficit to beat the Yankees for the American League pennant and eventually swept the Cardinals in the World Series. Curse busted, the Sox won again in 2007 and 2013.

Now, let’s talk about suffering for an entire sports city. Cleveland knows pain. The city did not win a major sports championship from 1964 until the Cavs broke that drought in 2016 thanks, LeBron. Chicago knows no such pain, as Da Bears, White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks have all hoisted multiple trophies and banners during that stretch.

The average Cleveland sports fan must be a bit perplexed by all the love pouring out nationally for the Cubbies and the city of Chicago. And they are probably, and rightfully, a little bent. I’m certain the Indian’s ball club is channeling that slight and the “us against the world” feeling is driving the team.

So game seven awaits tonight. Cleveland has a rested bullpen and a chip on its shoulder. The Cubs have destiny, mystique and aura. But as Curt Schilling famously pointed out, after being traded to the Red Sox prior to the 2004 season, those are merely names of nightclub dancers. The game is played between the lines, 27 outs per team, balls, strikes and hits. I say talent trumps destiny. The Tribe will break a lot of hearts tonight.