It was not mere jealousy. It was more like contempt.
The Lovable Losers moniker has been destroyed in dramatic fashion. The Cubs re-cemented themselves as the national baseball team, to the disdain of the folks in Boston or New York or St. Louis.
It may also be a combination of fear. Fear that the Cubs could go on a vintage Yankees run of several consecutive championship seasons. The young is is still very young. Most of the starting pitchers will be back in 2017. The Cubs could still spend more (given the chance by ownership) to get replacement free agents. Yes, other NL clubs are looking down the double barrel of a shotgun.
There may be also a sense in the negative fandom of other teams that their punching bag is gone. A security blanket that their own team does not suck as bad as the Cubs. The Cubs were destined to never be good. There were annual "Cubbie occurrences" which sabotaged their seasons. People outside Chicago loved to watch the slow car crash that was the Old Cubs.
But that has now changed - - - forever.
There is no Next Year. There is no joke that the Cubs "can't lose today (because they are not playing.)" There are a hoard of screaming people waving "W" blankets in the streets and bars throughout the country. They are the New Cub Nation. Their overwhelming release of joy and relief was a tsunami of emotions for generations of fans, alive and dead.
The Game 7 telecast was the highest rated baseball game in 15 years. A media pundit may conclude in a few years that Cubs-Indians World Series was the turning point to put baseball back on the same television platform as the NFL, which has been the dominate American sports franchise but is now under the pressure of significant ratings drop.
The Cubs victory puts pressure on other teams and fans to be introspective and critical of their own teams success and failures. And that is usually not an easy thing. Being a fan is a form of escapism. Being a Cub fan was a form of communal penance for a long forgotten sin.
One of the least recognized fears is the Fear of Success. If you attain something important in your life, there is a sudden panic realization of "what's next?!" Pause for a moment. You are no longer a door mat. You have achieved a life dream. You have had the greatest release of endorphin rush for the past two weeks. You have been in the clouds for the past 36 hours. It is like opening the greatest Christmas present, ever.
How do you top this feeling?
You don't. It is a once in a lifetime burst of wonderment and joy. It cannot be repeated at the same level of newness, surprise or desire. "Just win one in my lifetime" prayer has been answered by the baseball gods.
Even if there is a second, third or fourth championship (like the Bulls or Blackhawks), the first one is the most memorable, the most important, the most connected to the fans. it would be nice to go on a long run of winning to help enhance today's accomplishment. It gives one more ammo in bar talks comparing other teams to the Cubs.
But fans, especially the casual ones, will not mortgage their homes, max out their credit cards, ditch school or work, to spend 10 days in Wrigleyville buying expensive playoff tickets, $150 cover charges just to get into bars to eat and drink during games, or spend $50 for special event T-shirts. No, those premium prices will plummet in 2017. Supply and demand. The 2016 Cubs supplied what the fans always wanted - - - the championship. The 2017 Cubs could repeat, but fans who tapped out to see the promised land will not have the same level of interest to spend $3,000 for a playoff ticket. The casual fan caught up in the moment may not return. The demand for Cubs stuff, including games, will decline so the supply (cost) will have to be lowered to sustain a reasonable, connected fan base.
The great irony is that a Cubs world championship is probably the worst thing to happen to the Ricketts family. They paid a premium for the team because of its history and loyal fan base. The Cubs sold the possibility of ending a century of futility. They are paying a fortune to build a Disneyland of commercial properties around Wrigley Field. This season they received no revenue from these huge real estate projects. If the fan base does temper its expectations and spending habits, the Ricketts may be building an entire white elephant entertainment district.
There will be plenty of Christmas boxes filled with the discount championship logos. And by the time spring training will arrive in Arizona, there will be no crushing presence of whether "this is the year?" because 2016 was The Year. Hope will turn to Expectation of a repeat, but there will not be the emotional investment if the Cubs fail to achieve a second title. And thus, the Cubs marquee franchise will settle down into the peer group of being a very good team year over year to the knowledgeable fan. The only bristle will be the arguments with other team fans on where this Cub team ranks in history of the game. Or the fact the Cubs have only one title in 108 years. So what? Cubs diehards will reply. It does not matter anymore. The Cubs are the World Champions. That can never be taken away or diminished in bar talk or negative columns. It will be the permanent memory in the psyche of many people - - - hardwired in like the memories of where you were when JFK was assassinated, or when the planes hit the towers on 9/11. But this will be a joyful memory that will comfort people for a long, long time.
