As a young boy living in Naperville, Ill., my first baseball
memories are of sunny afternoons spent at the “Friendly Confines”
of Wrigley Field, watching my namesake, Ryne Sandberg, and the rest
of the Cubbies struggle through season after season in their
perpetual cellar position.

Those were the days–Mark Grace at first, Sandberg at second,
Shawon Dunston at shortstop, Andre Dawson leading the outfield and
a pitching staff highlighted by Cy Young Award winner Greg
Maddux.

The1989 Cubs went 93 and 69 and won the National League East
Division title. The following season, the Cubbies went 77 and 85
finishing in fifth place, reasserting themselves in the bottom of
their division.

In 1998, the Cubs made another appearance in the postseason,
only to be swept out by the Atlanta Braves in the first round. I
watched all three games from my living room in Davenport, Iowa, and
I’m not ashamed to say that I shed a tear when Kevin Tapani gave up
that bottom of the ninth homerun to Javy Lopez.

The Cubs have been cursed with bad luck since ever since. Now,
the Cubs stand just two games away from their first playoff series
win since 1945.

It is my experience that baseball fans love the underdog, so
support for the Cubs should be enormous. Sadly, that is not the
case, at least not here in St. Louis.

I hear riotous cheering for the Braves echoing within Reinert
Hall, and I am forced to silently root for my Cubbies for fear of
being ostracized. I don’t get it.

Sure, the Cardinals and Cubs are huge rivals, and yes, the Cubs
did take four out of five from the Cards in their late season
series (cough, boo-yah, cough). But the Cubbies are not the only
team that stomped the Cardinals this year. The Cards dropped two of
three against the Reds, then got swept by Houston– so why not hate
them?

Regretfully, the collective hatred of a million or so miffed
Cardinals fans is focused directly on the Chicago Cubs.

But before you instantly condemn the Cubbies, think about this:
Throughout the course of history, the Twins, Yankees and Athletics
have all beaten the Cards in the World Series and as recently as
1996, the Atlanta Braves took out the Cardinals in the National
League Championship Series, costing the red birds a shot at the
World Series ring. So, Cards fans, hate the Cubs if you may, but
please, don’t discriminate, hate all eight postseason teams
equally. And don’t feel bad about the Cardinals not making it to
October. Remember sports fans, there’s always next year.