By Stuart Shea
I once had a team,
Or should I say,
It once had me.
And though they played bad,
Their park appealed–
Wrig-uh-ly Field.
I sat through Jim Kremmel, Chuck Rainey, and Wayne Nordhagen–
Mike Vail and Karl Pagel were touted as saviors back then.
Sat terrace reserved,
Bleachers and box,
Never threw rocks.
And when they played well,
I cheered loud,
Part of the crowd.
But 2003 was so bitter that I had to leave,
And since then they’ve given no reasons that I ought to grieve.
I still love the game,
If somebody plays, I
Watch every day.
But root for the Cubs?
That’s in the can.
No longer a fan.
A sad portent … and I suspect the number of those who share a similar sentiment is growing. The proposed changes to Wrig-uh-ly will only speed the decline in active interest/participation by the remaining fan base. I loathe to think that a book will one day be written which describes how a once-successful franchise failed by trying too hard, in the wrong ways, to maximize shareholder value while inadvertently/cluelessly minimizing (i.e. shrinking to the point of extinction) STAKEholder value. And believe me – being a lifelong Cardinals fan who has countless Cub fan friends – I recognize the STAKE that the Cubs have had in so many peoples’ lives. Again, your poem is a sad portent Stu.
I fear that future generations will wonder why people loved baseball so much.
I think my steady and growing loss of connection to the Cubs is only in part about too many losses, too many losing seasons. Sitting in the stands and being distracted by “tourists”, oblivious suntanning visitors who don’t seem to know or care that this is the critical inning or batter, that there are comic musical cues being played on the organ, that…that…that a baseball game is being played down on the field.
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