Passion for the worst of teams

So I am hearing on tv that the Cubs are one of the best teams in the National League. Not only that, but they are one of the best teams in baseball. Funny.

Growing up a Cubs fan, I know I shouldn't get too excited. I've seen it all.

Growing up watching the Cubs taught me a lot about life. Players like Ryne Sandberg and Mark Grace were the players I said I wanted to be like. No real reason why. Maybe because they were the only good players on, for the most part, a very bad team.

But I could do that. I could relate to the winners on a losing team. I figured that is what life is about - it's about being that winner, even if you are on the losing team.

I saw the Cubs, back in 2003 - October 14, 2003 to be exact - 5 outs away from breaking the "curse". 5 outs away from a World Series (which they haven't been to since 1945). But as the baseball gods would seem it fit, that wouldn't happen.

Again, I figured I could relate to that. I figured that God would allow me to become what he saw fit me to become. Nothing to worry about there.

I have also watched as last year, the Cubs had a great second half of the season, turning around what seemed to be an underachieving season and winning the National League Central division title - and advancing into the second round of the playoffs.

Relating to that, I seemed to have - although a bit distorted view - that no matter how bad things looked, it could be turned around by cramming in a lot of hard work. Or begging. Or brown-nosing...

But with all of this talk about the Cubs being one of the best teams in baseball...I don't know what to think. I have been accustomed to living like the Cubs: early failures due to a belief that I did not have to worry about the future because no matter what, that Invisible Hand would orchestrate what needed to be done, and with just a little brown-nosing things would work out, but never to the highest level it could have been.

Then again, these are the Cubs and it's only May...