John's Cub Page
A collection of thoughts and pictures of the team I have followed for the last 35 years.

I have been to many Cub games since. Other than Wrigley Field, I have seen the Cubs play at Miller Park, the old Busch Stadiuim, and the Metrodome. The most memorable game I saw at Wrigley Field was September 18, 1999. That was the day Sammy Sosa became the first player to ever hit 60 home runs in two consecutive seasons. I can still remember how loud the stadium got after he hit the ball. Everyone, Cub fans and Brewer fans alike, were screaming and yelling at the tops of our lungs as we realized we had just witnessed an historic home run.

Another memorable game at Wrigley was on May 11, 2000. That was another Cub-Brewer matchup and it became the longest 9 inning game in National League history at 4 hours and 22 minutes. I can remember having a really sore butt after that game! But even more, I remember Glenallen Hill's monstrous home run. We knew immediately that the ball was gone but we lost sight of it on the way out of the park. It wasn't until we saw the people scrambling on the roof across the street that we realized exactly how hard he had hit the ball.

Another game I remember was against the Phillies on Sept. 28, 2000. I don't remember any specifics of the game, but I remember the temperature. It was COLD! It was the final home game of the season and the wind was whipping in off the lake. Our seats were pretty high up and we were getting the full affect of the wind. By the third inning we couldn't stand it any longer and bought a fleece blanket to huddle under for warmth.

One last big hit I remember was also at a Cub/Brewer game, this time at Miller Park in Milwaukee in 2004. During pre-game batting practice Sammy Sosa smashed a ball into the electronic scoreboard in center field. The ball never fell during the entire trip. It was still on the rise when it hit the scoreboard and we could see the shattered glass falling from the broken lightbulbs. If there had not been a wall to hit, I think the ball would have landed on the highway outside the park!
 

Another memorable Miller Park Cub moment, but this time the Brewers were not involved. Cub tickets are increasingly hard to come by and it has been a long time since we took our kids to a game. Then in late summer of 2008 Hurricane Ike rips through Houston, Texas. The Cubs were scheduled to play there, but the games were moved to Miller Park in Milwaukee where they could be played inside. Sunday morning, Sept. 14th, I learn of the rescheduled games and go online to get tickets for that night's game. That night, my family plus another 23,437 fans got to witness Cub history. Alfonso Soriano led off the game with a home run. Then in the third the Cubs sent 9 men to the plate, scoring 4 and sending the Astros starter to the showers early. The Cubs did not score again, but they didn't have to because the night belonged to Carlos Zambrano. The radar gun showed him pitching in the high 90's. He gave up one walk in the fourth, but that threat was erased on a double play. The only other Astro's base runner was a hit batter in the fifth. Derrek Lee and Mark DeRosa helped with a couple of good defensive plays. Finally, in the bottom of the ninth, on his 110th pitch, Big Z struck out Darin Erstad for his first career no hitter. He was immediately mobbed on the mound by his team mates and the crowd went nuts! We left the stadium, crossed the bridge over the highway and river, got to our car, and could still hear the cheering inside the stadium. And it was shut! That's how loud the Cub fans cheered for Zambrano after the game.

Roger Simon

Wait 'Til Next Year

Back in baseball's early days
"White Stockings" they were called.
They won a lot of pennants
While dominating all baseball

In nineteen seven and '08
They won the World Series.
But now it's been a hundred years
and fans are growing weary.

Against Detroit in '45
Billy Goat was not let in.
It's now been over 60 years
And they have not been back since.

The '69 Cubs looked real good.
Their hard work almost paid off.
But the "Miracle Mets" took first instead
and made it to the playoffs.

In '84 the Cubbies
Were up 2 to game to 0,
But then they let the Padres
Win three in a row.

"The boys of Zimmer" had a chance
in 1989.
But when they reached the playoffs
The Giants left them behind.

In '98 they beat the Giants
To win the Wild Card.
But then the Braves swept them away
And Cub fans took it hard.

The Cubbies of 2003
Showed a lot of heart, man.
But when they missed the series
They blamed it on Steve Bartman.

2007 saw "Sweet Lou"
improve the Cubbies game.
But when they met the Diamondbacks
The results were just the same.

And so we sit and wonder,
All us Cub fans far and near:
Will the team improve next season
Or will we again "Wait 'til next year?"

Written by John R. Sill, October 28, 2007

                                                                                  Cubs Acronyms
A coworker who is a Brewer fan once told me that Cubs stood for Completely Useless By September. I told him Brewers stood for Baseball's Rejects Enjoy Winning, Except Rarely Succeed. Here are a few more we've thought of since.

            Can't Unite Behind Sosa
            Could Use Bullpen Staff
            Cork Used By Sosa
            Caught Using Bogus Swatter
            Cubs Usually Blow Season
            Closing Using Borowski's Skills
            Chicago Under Baker's Spell
            Can't Understand Botched Season           

             Can't Underestimate Billygoat Story   
             Could Use Base Stealers
             Cubbie Unleashes Big Sneezes
             Sosa Out: Sneezing Attack
             Chicago Unloads Booed Sosa
             Can Underwhelming Burnitz Succeed?        
             Post-season Race Increasingly Out of Reach
             Carlos Upset, Barrett Smacked

"Why does everybody stand up and sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame when they're already there?"  Larry Anderson

These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double-
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."

Cubs Tongue Twister #1

How much wood would Kerry Wood carry if Kerry Wood would carry wood?

Cubs Tongue Twister #2

Slammin' Sammy Sosa should swing Simon's sausage swatter.

Cubs Tongue Twister #3

Slammin' Sammy Sosa sidelined since suddenly sneezing severely.

"Every player should be accorded the privilege of at least one season with the Chicago Cubs.  That's baseball as it should be played - in God's own sunshine.  And that's really living." 

Alvin Dark