Major League Baseball must be thrilled with the pairing for the 112th World Series.
On one hand you have the big market Chicago Cubs, a team with a such a pronounced history of failure that baseball fans and non-baseball fans alike know their story. No matter how much baseball bores you it will be compelling to watch the Northsiders attempt to break their 108-year title drought, which may or may not be aided by an actual curse.
On the other hand you have the small market Cleveland Indians, a team well known for being featured in the iconic movie Major League. The Indians – and the city of Cleveland – also have a rich tradition of losing. The black cloud was lifted when the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Title in 2016, but the memories of Jose Mesa blowing Game 7 of the 1997 World Series or John Elway leading a 98-year drive in the 1987 AFC Title Game are still fresh.
In theory the Cubs and Indians are both easy to root for. It’s fun watching someone push the boulder to the top of the hill and have it stay there – something that’s guaranteed to happen in this World Series. However, in practice I find it impossible to root for Chicago, and thus I’m all in for Cleveland.
One of the first things I was taught as a sports fan is that the Chicago Bears are the main rival of the Green Bay Packers. This was an essential lesson to learn and it laid the foundation for a general dislike of Chicago sports teams. Over time I’ve come to embrace the enjoyment of regional rivalries and thus this foundation of disdain has grown stronger. Just as it’s fun to root for Wisconsin teams, it’s almost as fun to root against teams from Chicago. Besides, most Cubs fans are also Bears fans, meaning they want the Packers to lose every game they play. Do you really want a someone who despises the Packers to experience the joy of a World Series title? I didn’t think so.
But that’s just me. Readers of the Racine County Eye, who do you want to win the World Series?
