 |
| A Nice Little Place on the North Side |
What
does a female bear taking birth control have in common with the World Series? No cubs. (p. 29)
Spring
is in the air. With it comes the sound of a crack of a baseball bat to be closely
followed by the gnashing teeth of Chicago Cubs fans as the team tanks another season.
George Will, better known for his political commentary (and ubiquitous bowtie),
has written an enjoyable history of the team and begs to ask the question, why
can’t they win another Series?
“...there is a lot
of losing in baseball, even for the best teams. If you can’t bear losing, find
another sport. And if you do not much mind losing, or if you actually rather
enjoy it, you should feel right at home in Wrigley Field.” (p. 136)
A Nice Little
Place on the North Side goes beyond a simple litany of famous and infamous
fans, games, and players. Although, I have to admit I was fascinated to find out
Jack Ruby once worked at Wrigley Field as a vendor known for “nefarious sales.”
Will attempts to explain the mystique of the Cubs; obvious to inhabitants of Chicago,
but beyond the understanding of anyone else. The fans devotion to Wrigley Field
is legendary. As Will notes, every once in while a person in the front will
even sneak in the ashes of a dearly departed and cast them into the wind.
Ushers tend to look the other way. Cubs fans, Will wryly points out, are the least sensitive to losing streaks in all
of Major League Baseball. Winning to please is obviously not a strategy in the
team’s game book.
Will
goes on to detail famous owners such as Spalding (of sports equipment fame) and
Wrigley (chewing gum, natch), and how baseball became big business. His section
on beer is very entertaining. Apparently, attendance at Cubs games is four times
more sensitive to beer prices than ticket prices. He also includes a brief
discussion of the psychology of sports fans and how even being part of a fandom
for a losing team promotes a feeling of community.
How’s
about dem Cubbies? Will the team ever win another series? Eh, maybe not, but it
won’t be because of the lack of devoted fans. This book is an enjoyable read
for baseball lovers. There is plenty of sports trivia and descriptions of
games. I recommend it to anyone who follows the Cubs or ardently loves a hapless
sports team for inexplicable reasons. It
would also be appropriate for anyone who loves such a woeful individual. The book won’t
completely explain his or her madness, but may increase one’s sympathy.
I received this book from Blogging
for Books for this review.
No comments:
Post a Comment