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Chicago Cubs Do Not Battle for Fans

It has been many years since the Chicago Cubs have won the World Series. It has been less so for the other baseball team in town, but the point is, people still love the Chicago Cubs.

What is it that make the Cubs so popular? Is it their stadium? Their day games? The fans? The bars? Who knows, but the point is: the Chicago Cubs are really popular. Way more popular than that other team.

The other team plays well and its handful of fans seems to be happy lately. This is despite the fact that their team is not as popular as the Cubs, which regularly fills Wrigley Field to capacity. Will this other team match the Cubs in terms of popularity?

The answer is: who knows?

Actually, the answer is: no.

Some might say that winning World Series matters more than what bars you can walk to before and/or after the game , but those are the type of people who are just jealous of popularity. These are the type of people who typically have to go home after a game ends, and not head to the good times and great deals at the Cubby Bear (discount wings Wednesday nights!) While it's nice for these people that they have something to be happy about for once, it's kind of pathetic, isn't it? That is, in comparison how this town would really celebrate if the Chicago Cubs won the World Series. This is sort of like a dry run for the real deal.

Sure, it would be nice for the Chicago Cubs to win the World Series sometime soon. And it might happen. But you know what is almost as sweet--actually, sweeter than victory? The victory of being popular.

After all, what is the point of winning if not everybody is paying attention to you? That's way worse than losing and being beloved. It's not the student who gets more A's that is voted Homecoming Queen. It's the most popular one. And after all, it's the Homecoming Queen, not Most Like to Succeed, who's most likely to succeed.

Some people might say that the whole argument of popularity within a market that is not New York, Boston or Los Angeles is irrelevant anyway. But those people also do not have deadlines and articles to write to keep the Chicago Cubs in the news well into the winter months.

Are you still there? Good. The point is, there will always be something to complain about, baseball-wise, here in Chicago, and we at the Chicago Tribune will be the first to pick up on it. It may be complaining that the Cubs have not won a World Series due to unfortunate circumstances. But more likely it will be that some other team just isn't as adored, so despite their rather dull World Series victory, they are still second-rate. They will continue to be so until they can prove in some tangible way that they are at least as popular as the Cubs. And if there is no tangible way to prove popularity, then we guess this contest has simply been decided. Forever.

Only six more months until opening day at Wrigley Field! Keep it here for continuing coverage of the Cubs, and Cub-related matters (including how the Cubs compare to the other baseball team in town, which of course, will always be, hands-down, outstandingly favorably.)