So what do average Cub fans perceive of their team as it muddles its way to the end of the season?
What does the "C" on the Cubs cap represent today?
CALAMITY. Long time Cub fans expect the worst of their team at any given moment. They are continually amazed by the new ways the team finds to lose. They are trained to expect the worst, like an ace pitcher who can't field a bunt and throw it within 30 feet of first base. It is like the inner desire to watch a car crash unfold in front of your eyes.
CURSED. Long time Cub fans seek comfort in blaming nonsensical things as a reason for their team's losing ways: the goat, the black cat, the Bartman foul ball. But objectively, none of those alleged curses affected the result of any ball game or series. It was the players inability to perform under pressure and not excuses from the grandstands that has led to a permanent legacy of following the Loveable Losers due to supernatural events beyond anyone's control.
CRAP. In a cost-benefit analysis, the Cubs as a form of entertainment is a crappy deal. "Dynamic" high ticket prices for a AAA caliber roster is not a value deal like the bad teams in the late 1970s and early 1980s when fans could just show up to the park for a few bucks and watch a game from the front row of the empty bleachers. Under Tribune ownership, the Cubs became an entertainment venue; the largest open air tavern with a baseball floor show. As a television show, it made money. As a baseball franchise, it was a death knell. A budget philosophy of collecting just enough talent to be "competitive" to draw ratings was more important than winning championships. That leaves the development organization the poor step-sister to the main stage scene stealers. In addition, a loyal fan base has de-emphasized performance and accountability in management and players so crappy fundamentals has become the norm for the club.
CHECK-OUT. With the influx of young 20-somethings in the early 2000s, those who were not more interested in the bleacher beach scene but cared about the game itself, started to realize that the spike in the cost of attending games was supposed to equate with winning championships. These new fans changed the target from full at the ball park (in a Harry Carey haze) to wins. And when the Cubs bumped into the playoffs under Piniella, these fans felt the finish line ahead. But the Cubs collapsed in the playoffs, and the team crawled into bankruptcy with the Tribune. These new fans and Generation Y, in a tough recession with the high cost of living in the city, have given up being die-hard supporters of the team; they have checked out of Party Wrigley.
CONTEMPT. There is a feeling that new ownership and management believe Cub fans are merely paying sheep easily corralled in the lore that is the Cubs. There is an attitude that Cub fans can be milked for some of the highest prices in the sport because of their loyalty and their affection for Wrigley Field. There is an increasing arrogant tone from management who talk down to the media representatives of the fans in a corporate speak gibberish "of the process" to glaze over the harsh reality that they incompetently fielded a roster which will only contend for the most losses in team history. And for every action, there is an equal reaction. There is a growing minority of fans and the community that have contempt for the Cubs. One group has their ire based firmly on the lack of baseball intelligence shown in game after game. The lack of improvement or accountability of players by coaching staff is a disturbing trend. Another group has their ire directed at the Ricketts family, who continue to cry "poor" in order hundreds of millions of dollars in state and local taxpayer funds to rebuild their private property while at the same time spending tens of millions of dollars on adjacent real estate acquisitions and trimming the team payroll dramatically for the next few seasons. For the fan and his/her family that has struggled from pay check (if they are lucky) to pay check, a family of millionaires who want their tax dollars is a great insult when the city is bankrupt, teachers threatening to go on strike for benefits and basic city services are in the decline.
CUBS. The Cubs are a flood debris field of mixed emotions. The "Wait to Next Year" fan loyalty slogan is being eclipsed by "What are You Doing for Me Now?" When ownership says the team is only one or two players away; then it turns out that the team is not competitive at all - - - the seeds of revolutionary thought is sown. Fans have been waiting so long ( a lifetime) that hope turns into mental abuse, which turns into acknowledgement, which leads to resentment, which then can lead to therapeutic "letting go" of one's attachment to the team. If you perceive that "your" team is taking advantage of your patience, there is only so much one can take before breaking the bonds that first group them together. It is a evolution of a child-like passion to a grown-up objective balance of putting that energy into more productive uses.
