Waiting, once again, for next year...

Cubs fans, rejoice!

Well, okay...don't rejoice. There wasn't much to get excited about this past season. Some were happy with the departure of ol' number 21, but what we got in return was not the "five or six great rookies" so many had hoped for. In a season once again plagued with injury, many Cubs fans are left only with the hope that we don't end up with a White Sox/Cardinals World Series.

But there is a light. Sure, the future is always as bright as your imagination lets it be, but the light I speak of comes from this season's accomplishments. I'm not talking about Derrek Lee's run for the Triple Crown or Aramis Ramirez's breakout second half. I'm talking about our record against playoff teams. Now, before you jump ahead and try to figure this one out, just read on.

Of the eight teams that made it to the playoffs this year (Padres, Cardinals, Astros, Braves, White Sox, Yankees, Red Sox, and Angels), our Cubbies played seven of them. (We didn't play the Angels.) Against those seven teams, we won 4 and split 1 season series. The Braves beat us 6-1 this season and the Yankees took all three at Yankee Stadium. But guess what? The Braves were eliminated and the Yankees have to earn five more W's before they play a National League team.

The point is, against the Padres, the Astros, and especially the Cardinals, the Cubs played some of their best baseball. They won those three season series by a total of 23-16. We beat the World Champion Boston Red Sox 2 games to 1, and we split the season series with the South Siders.

Yes, I know that when all is totaled, our record against playoff teams was 29-29 and that .500 ball is not exactly great, but I've got to grasp onto something! It is the Cubs, after all, and there wasn't much more to cling to!

Switching topics now to who I want to win the World Series....

This is a question I've gotten ever since the Cubs were eliminated from contention. But my answer is the same: The Chicago Cubs. That's who I want. I also want a million dollars, a full time job, and a cure for cancer.

"Don't tell me you're one of those Cubs fans that can't root for the White Sox?" some say.

Okay...I won't tell you that. But let me ask this. If the White Sox were from, say, Canton, Ohio, why would I root for them over any other team in this post season? They're NOT my team and the word "Chicago" on the jersey doesn't make them so.

That being said, there is something to be said about the excitement that comes into town when a team goes into the post season. I lived just outside of Indianapolis when the Pacers made the NBA Finals in 2000. I love the Pacers (long live Reggie Miller!) and the whole town, as small as it now seems, was ELECTRIC! I lived in Tampa the year the Ravens won the Super Bowl (in Tampa, 2001) and even though our local team wasn't in it, there was a certain charge about it.

But my favorite of these stories comes from 2003. The Cubs made it to the playoffs and I lived only about two blocks south of Wrigley Field. Cubs fans filled the streets! People were drinking, dancing, waving flags (square into my nose--ouch)...even the garbage strike was lifted for the surrounding area so that Wrigleyville wasn't a giant waste can. Every time I left my apartment, some random stranger was asking me about the Cubs: What's the score? Did you see the game? Got tickets? And the White Sox were on the verge of the playoffs, too. Cubs fans at Wrigley Field during the final days of the season were seen carrying White Sox signs, hoping our South Side Rivals would make it to the playoffs, too. And then I talked to some White Sox fans and what I thought I'd learned about Sox fans earlier that season was reaffirmed: They hate us! They were angry that the Cubs were going to playoffs, whether they made it or not. Their disdain for the Cubs is as passionate as my love for them!

Still, I was taught to "Cheer for our team and not against the other," something that I think is fundamental in the core of Cubs fans. If the White Sox win, I'll be 20 feet behind (but not on) the bandwagon, saying "Good for you!" I will enjoy the spark of excitement that comes from the postseason. I will congratulate my South Side friends on the end of their long suffering. And when all is said and done, whether the White Sox win or lose, I'll smile.

Next year is closer than you think!