Thursday, April 07, 2005

Home Opener

Only a few more hours until the Cubs home opener. The team went 1-2 in Arizona, but that may also have been a product of spring training hangover. Some of these guys haven't been home since mid-February, so I'm not going to make any snap judgements based on the first series of the year. I will say that I did notice a change in the way I watched the games though. Last year, I was amped up for every game, didn't want to miss a pitch, which was ultimately too exhausting over a 162 game baseball season. I wasn't the only one. It was obvious that from day one, the Wrigley crowd was hyper intense, standing and roaring through almost every game. While that kind of passion is admirable, it also has to wear down the players. I know their professionals, who aren't supposed to be affected by such things, but let's face it, that's impossible. When you're in the focus of the intensity of 40,000 people, well, I believe you can't help but get caught up in it, and after 82 games (and probably more, as the Cubs faithful seemed to turn out in force at any stadium with extra tickets) the players were quite honestly probably glad to get away from it. But I've noticed so far this year that I've been able to sit back and enjoy watching the games this year, without constantly worrying what effect the outcome is going to have on the Cubs playoff chances. Maybe I learned my lesson from last year, or maybe I'm just burned out from the Illini's tournament run, but I hope I can keep this attitude for most of the summer. Then, about August 1st, if the beloved Cubs are still within shouting distance of the division or wildcard, I can dial up the intensity a little bit. Here's hoping that the rest of you Cubs fans are feeling the same way. Let's try and enjoy this season, instead of impatiently waiting for October, because as watching Illinois taught me, sometimes the journey is as much fun as the destination.

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