100 Years And Counting
There are those that say sports are like life and they are right. It's a cliche but it's a cliche because it's true. Cliches best explain the life/sport similarities as well - expect the unexpected and there's no such thing as a sure thing. Watching the best Cubs team to take the field since 1908, suddenly shrivel into a shadow of themselves and roll over in 3 games to the Dodgers proves the point. Maybe it was coaching, poor play, coincidence or a curse, but no matter the 'why', you couldn't have honestly seen it coming. We learned a long time ago and many times since that sports, like life, is a roll of the dice.
There was our high school basketball team, peppered with Division I recruits, undefeated during the regular season for 2 years, spanking anyone who got in their path by an average of 18 points, marching untouched all the way to the coveted Indiana High School Championship Game to get crushed by over 18 points in both games. There was an Indiana Hoosier basketball squad in 2002 who fired their legendary coach, replaced him with an inexperienced no-name, struggled to a 18-11 record, then once in the NCAA Tourney battled a talented field all the way to the Championship, a game away from collegiate glory, only to fall flat versus Maryland. We've seen Bulls teams in the 90s win championships with sheer will, Bears teams go to the Super Bowl without an offense, a White Sox team not playoff worthy win the World Series and other less personal examples. The Cubs loss to the Dodgers was shocking on an immediate and local level, but as in life and so in sports, there's always tomorrow. Let's just hope the Cubs (and their fans) can rebound from this terrible defeat and come back stronger next year.
