Boys of Summer

"You see, you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time."  ~Jim Bouton, Ball Four, 1970

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball.  I'll tell you what I do.  I stare out the window and wait for spring."  ~Rogers Hornsby


Today marks the end of another season as a Cubs fan. It's quite possibly been one of the most dismal seasons I've seen in years. No playoffs and no awards. No manager and few heroes, heck . . . not even 75 wins. The warmth of Wrigley will hibernate for the next six months and the players will leave town and head back to their warm weather off-season homes. The sporting world will turn its eyes towards football and basketball. Meanwhile, the rest of us will stay here in Chicago all Winter just yearning for a chance to head to the bleachers just once on a sunny day and cheer for our boys in blue. But let me assure you that not all is lost. Being a Cubs fan means that you are blessed with eternal Hope. The energy and pride that this team has shown in the last month of the season has given me renewed Hope. The kind of Hope that will carry me through the frigid Winter months and the kind of Hope that has me already eagerly awaiting that first home game in April.  


Photo by Michael Patrick Perry-Feel free to use images with links and credit – no commercial use without permission