On being a virtuous Cubs fan.

Maybe I'm a virtuous masochist. Because I enjoy watching my Chicago Cubs lose baseball games. It's the most inept Cubs team I've seen in my lifetime. And believe me, I've seen many inept Cubs teams. But we Cubs fans are lucky in one sense. We escape the presssure of losing heartbreaking games in the midst of a pennant race. The Cubs are so far out that there's no race. Therefore, there's no heartbreak factor when the Cubs lose. Just chalk it up as another routine loss. On the way to breaking a record for the most Cubs losses in a single season. Apparently, the decision has been made to gut the Cubs. To more or less start from scratch. To rebuild the franchise. From the bottom up. To get rid of veteran players. And the failures. Which means virtually everybody. And to start all over. With young ballplayers with lots of potential. And then to wait patiently for the players to develop. To emerge into stars. It's been a long wait since the last winning World Series for the Cubs. Yes, 104 years, and counting and counting and counting. If patience is a virtue, Cubs fans are virtuous. Makes me proud to be a Cubs fan. --Jim Broede