Monday, October 08, 2007

Misplaced tradition and the Cubs

Here are some suggestions from somebody that hates baseball,but is interested enough to see that change is needed.

First, North siders and other Cub fans need to realize that the "storied tradition" of the Chicago Cubs is one of failure. Looking back fondly on failure is not healthy and helps to create to the atmosphere of losing that the team is mired in. Remember, failure is a habit. "Lovable Losers" should not be nickname used fondly. Once they can all realize that, change can be made and for the better. Please, keep that in mind as I extol.

1. Change the uniforms! The wimpy little letter "c" on a bright blue cap does not instill fear in an opponent. Go dark blue and put a large old English "C" on the cap. The Cubs are not an American League team, so why dress like one?

2. Move! Let's face it, Wrigley is a dump! Fans and players expect better facilities these days and keeping Wrigley just because it is the oldest park in the majors is just keeping up with the tradition of failure. Some options:
a. Rebuild. Knock down old Wrigley and make a new, state of the art facility with the look of the old place. See Camden Yard and Fenway Park for examples. Take the ivy and that awful Harry Cary statue if you must.
b. If it won't fit in Wrigleyville, move to a suburb. There are plenty of successful sports franchises that exist outside the limits of their city. Try Plainfield, the fifth fastest growing suburb in the nation.
c. Go to Indianapolis. Indy has been desperate for a major league team for as long as the Cubs have been losers. And franchises move all the time, usually for the better. The Dodgers, Giants and A's are the best examples.

To go forward, you can't look back.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wrigley is not a dump. You can see the game from every seat in the house except the few behind the posts ... if you can only get a ticket.

The guy who wears Chuck Taylors with a suit. said...

It is a dump. Crumbling concrete, exposed rebar, pigeon droppings and rusty seats. Sounds like a dump to me. Then again, Wichita is a dump and I live here.

I guess I should drink more bear at Wrigley, then I wouldn't notice it's dumpiness...or the Cubs.

Anonymous said...

I guess I prefer those symptoms of dumpiness to a place where most of the seats have you too far away to see the game.