I’m trying not to let my mood be reflected in the box score, but sports are an important part of my life. Some how I’ve become a suffering Cubs fan, just like I once obsessively absorbed myself in I.U. basketball. I can blame this on my upbringing and the bonds that I had with my father. For the record, I was not a Cubs fan until I was an adult. Now, I wake up in a bad mood if the Cubs lose, as they did last night. Fortunately, they made a trade, or the team wouldn’t have even gotten a hit. To make matters worse it was against the Cardinals. We should all have a box score to look at the next day.

My box score from yesterday would show a morning run, too much TV watching, an acupuncture session, and dinner with my wife at West while monitoring the Cubs game. Not exactly a constructive day in the life, capped-off by a game-generated mood swing. I went to bed with it, and woke up with it – like a pouty little kid. Why do I let this silly game get the best of me? I wasn’t even playing. I’ve got the Cubbies Blues!

These Cubbies literally sometimes suck the life out of me, when life is going great. I’m retired and happily married – have most days to myself with few worries. There’s no reason for this to get to me, but it does. Yet, I’ll be watching when they start to fill-in today’s box score against the Brewers. It’s like being involved in a bad relationship. Nothing makes me angrier than a Cubs loss. When they win, there are certainly happier moments in life, but I do feel better about getting up the next day. 

It’s been a long, disappointing year for the Cubs. Last night was the first time in an 18-game stretch since the All Star Game, where they hadn’t held the lead at one point. They’ve gotten runs for their starting pitchers and put them in a position to win. Unfortunately, relief and the road have not been welcome sights. They managed to sweep the Pirates and won two out of three from the stubborn Reds and Padres. Then they had to leave the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. Chicago  next blew two games each against the Giants, Brewers, and Cardinals, as the relief corps simply didn’t do their jobs. To add to the misery, they only scored 3 runs in three games at Busch Stadium, after beefing-up their offensive power with the acquisition of Nick Castellanos from the surrendering Tigers. He sadly got their only hit last night against a pitcher that hadn’t won since mid-May. Overall, it was an 11-16 road flop.

So here we are in August, and the Cubs are a game behind the Cards and a game ahead of the Brewers. They are still in contention, but I expect to continue to suffer the rest of this season. I’ll be wearing Blue and seeing Red! The mood swings will persist in haunting my dreams, and the missed swings will reflect in the box score. October will come and go without the Cubs, and my anger will shift to I.U. basketball. It’s a vicious cycle that is a bigger part of my life than I really want it to be. Try to remember – It’s only a game!