Sunday, June 22, 2008

Sunday notes and on the Chicago Bubbles

1) Have you ever been driving on the highway and you see a piece of roadkill? You don't want to look at it, but your heads drags your eyes right at its direction? Well, that happened to me around 10 p.m. There was absolutely nothing on TV and my DVD player wouldn't cooperate. I turned to WGN and they have the 60 years of WGN televising Cubs baseball special on. Though I should have known better, I watched. I have not wanted to vomit like that since I ate that sushi in Mexico.

You know what I learned? Apparently, nothing bad has ever happened to the Cubs on WGN TV. If you showed this documentary to someone who had never watched a baseball game, that's what they would think. It is just a love-in of all the good moments and the people and the stretch. It reminded me of a Congressional hearing, it so full of half-truths. Last I checked, these are not the Yankees. They are not the Dodgers. There is not that much to celebrate; yet I thought I was watching a documentary on the 1980 US Olympic hockey team.

I liked a few features such as showing how they produced the games and hearing from a few of the local business owners. The only mentions of 1969 were Ken Holtzman's no-hitter and Ron Santo's heel clicking. The segment ends with Santo saying "And we were heading for a really good summer." That's it. The only loss they allude to in two hours was the 23-22 loss to Philly. And I had to hear a half hour describing what it would be like when they win the World Series. A full 25 percent of the show devoted to pure fantasy.

I loved this part to. Actress Bonnie Hunt noted how the fans "suffer one terrible moment after another." Uh, really? How many have there been in 50 years? 1969, 1984 NLCS first round, (The Giants were better in 1989, that doesn't count; nor does 1998, you had Wood's 20 K's and a wild card race win followed by a loss to a superior Atlanta team), the 2003 NLCS, and I'll even give last year's sweep. They have had nowhere near, NOWHERE NEAR, as many devastating moments as the Red Sox did or the San Francisco Giants have had.

And of course, now all the bandwagon fans are out in full force. A lot of them think a championship is a given (typical of the Chicago mindset (2006 Bears, anyone?) and that's why I refer to this team and their fans as the Bubbles. And when does a bad team automatically equal loyal fans? They are good right now, and the fans are loud, so now they're loyal. Please. If this team was doing what the Mets are doing, the park would have 25,000 a game, and 20,000 would show up just to get hammered. There are so many frauds, it is disgusting. Unlike 2003, if the Braves played the Cubs in the playoffs, I would root for Atlanta.

2) I dropped by the Swedish Days parade in Geneva for the first time today. One thing I noticed. If you're not enjoying a parade, don't walk alongside it. It never changes. Instead, walk backward; you will fast forward the parade. And great job by Egg Harbor Cafe, grilling up those cheeseburgers with the grilled onions. And they did the little things right with it too. One of the keys to a great burger is to warn up the inside of the bun. Almost nobody does this nowadays. They did it, and it really made the burger come together better. I could have used some pickles, but that probably would have been another two bucks.

2) Why do DVD drives on computers wear out so quickly?

3) Off Day #2 of 18 this year comes tomorrow.

4) Played disc golf last night for the first time in over a year at Sunrise Park. After struggling on the first two holes, I found my rhythm. I had some long straight drives and I was especially happy they weren't fading to the left, which I usually do. Think I might go again.

5) GregH throws the best parties. One week away....

PS Memo to Glen "Saviour" Sather. PAY SEAN AVERY!!!!

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