This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
When a bearded Brian Wilson blew a high-and-tight fastball by Nelson Cruz five years ago, the ridiculousness that is fandom was validated. For me, and for those who root for the San Francisco Giants, who'd won their first World Series title since moving to the Bay Area 53 years prior.
My grandparents went to games at Seals Stadium when the Giants moved from New York. My mom went to games at Candlestick Park growing up, which paved the way for me to do the same.
Things have been a breeze lately. Not gloating, just stating the absurdity of following a team that couldn't win for 53 calendar years and suddenly has three World Series crowns since 2010. The Giants are in the midst of their even-year-only fetish, so I don't really need to start stressing out until pitchers and catchers report next January or February, or whenever that is.
This October, I'm pulling for the Chicago Cubs. You don't have to. I'm on no bandwagon. I have nothing invested. Maybe I'm biased. I have many friends — as I'm sure you do — who are lifelong Cubs fans.
Those poor, poor, poor souls.
The last time the Cubs won a World Series was four years before the Titanic sank. So maybe I've grown a bit attached to the idea of the Cubs winning it all to congratulate my friends. It's pretty cheesy and sentimental, even though as I sit here writing this I'm staring at the front pages of the 2010, 2012 and 2014 San Francisco Chronicles framed in my living room.
Trying to quantify what's transpired since the Cubs last won the World Series really gives me anxiety. So I can't really imagine what the fan base is going through now; a team that a year ago was directionless, had young talent brewing in the minor leagues, cultivated by Theo Epstein, but since has been pieced together by baseball's ultimate hipster, Joe Maddon.
Earlier this season, I watched Jake Arrieta handcuff the Giants, so I wasn't surprised to see him handcuff the Pirates in Wednesday's National League Wild Card game and punt the keys into the Allegheny River.
The Cubs are now in the NLDS against the hated St. Louis Cardinals, who had baseball's best record in 2015 and was the only team to win 100 games in the regular season. Even the most optimistic of Cubs fans (Do you exist?) are elated with this team, but as usual are proceeding with caution. Some probably can't even watch. Arrieta's complete-game shutout against Pittsburgh was Chicago's first postseason win in 12 years.
And we all remember that October.
So go Cubs.
For Andy and Sam and Kevin and Todd. Even you, Luhm.
Go Cubs.
After Maddon was hired in the offseason, I asked my friend Sam, a Chicagoan, what would happen if — or when — the Cubs ever made it back to the World Series. Without hesitation, he said something to the effect of chaos. Or madness. Might've been pandemonium.
Whatever it was, it sounded fun and fitting.
Twitter: @chriskamrani