CHEER up, Cubs fans! Come on!!!

I must admit that I'm a little bit ashamed of myself.

Last night my editor and I sat back in our chairs for a little bit to chat about the baseball playoffs. We Cubs fans get to have our eyes light up at this conversation only once every so often, and this year it is totally out of the ordinary, since it's the second year in a row. You would think my excitement would have been bursting forth, that I would have been blowing up balloons, throwing confetti in the air and renting a pony or two, proclaiming a Cubs World Series already after their 97 win (!!!!) season.

But no. I sat back in my chair with a blank face, folded arms and a calm voice. When asked how I felt about the Cubs being in (she knows I'm a fan), I said, "eh, I'm just trying to not get too carried away, because it is the Cubs."

I realized my shame a few hours later when roughly 42,000 people with the same sentiment filled Wrigley last night. I've seen more electricity in a cold regular season game in May against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It took only a half inning for the announcers to catch on, saying "it almost seems these fans are only hoping they don't mess up!" and they were right.

The producers knew the story line here, a bunch of bitter, scared fans, too scared to cheer on their "beloved" Cubbies. We made an embarrassment of ourselves last night, Cubs nation, myself included, but let me say this: It has to stop there.

Where were all those crazed (or, idiotic) Cubs fans? You know at least one, too, the ones that have three tattered jersies from three decades, six worn out hats, and a dog named Ernie, a cat named Ryno, a bird named Sosa, and two children, Wrigley (girl) and Caray (boy). And nevermind he got fired from 7/11 yesterday, the biggest tragedy on his mind was the blown save by Kerry Wood later that night.

Where was that guy??? We could have used him in the fifth inning when Ryan Dempster was unable to find the strike zone and had a look of panic in his eyes! It appeared as though he was looking in the stands for his mother. I surely wasn't the only one who saw some sort of tragedy coming off the bat of James Loney, but no one in the stands did anything to try to stop it, like, oh say, cheer. They just hoped it wouldn't happen.

Why are we panicking, Cubs fans? First of all (and this is a big first, believe me, it took a long time for me to understand this, too), but this is baseball. It is a GAME played with a stick and a ball created (maybe) by Abner Doubleday in 1839 (the creator is still not proven). Point being, breathe a little bit. If the Cubs win this season, it'll be nice but your life won't really be any better unless you own stock in the Cubs, which you likely don't. I know you want to SHOVE IT IN COUSIN RICKY'S FACE, that STUPID CARDINALS FAN!!!!! ... but come on, that's kind of silly.
And if they lose, your life won't be any worse, unless you are too attached. If you are, then detach yourself just a bit.

OK, now that we have that out of the way, what happens if they lose this season? Will this all-star lineup disassemble? This isn't the Florida Marlins we're talking about, and these aren't the cheap Cubs of old. They have a their core players - and coach - locked up for a while:
• Carlos Zambrano (through 2012)
• Aramis Ramirez (2011)
• Alfonso Soriano (2014!)
• Derrek Lee (2010)
• Fukudome (2011 hahaha)
• Dempster (2008, OK, so there's one)

I guess it would be unfair for me to not mention that Kerry Wood and Tim Harden are also free agents this offseason, but these Cubs are different than your dad's Cubs and even your older brother's Cubs. After they watched the financial success begin to change hands to their crosstown rivals after the White Sox won the World Series in 2006, they realized that Cubs fans no longer were no longer OK with their team being lovable losers, they wanted a championship team and weren't going to buy tickets, jersies, hats or dogs named Ernie until happened.

This is no time to panic, Cubs fans, this is the time to embrace your team. The Cubs aren't as much playing against the Dodgers tonight as they are against a mindset, not the one that is in their own minds, but what's in your mind. To the many Cubs fans who have already said after one loss, 'IT'S OVER!!!!!" leaving the players to wonder where there beloved fans are, grow up and support your team.