Tales from the Second City. Episode 3: Defeat.

The Cubs had one foot in the grave on Saturday, but were playing their first playoff game at home and people still felt confident that the tide could be turned. My friend John and I decided to head up to Wrigleyville to soak up the atmosphere of playoff baseball in a genuine and traditional baseball community.

Unlike most towns that have baseball teams, Chicago's ballparks are not based in the city center, but in neighborhoods which have their own sort of charm to them. Wrigely Field is the apex of the neighborhood stadium: compact, no parking lots, it shunts up against 70 year old apartment buildings from which residents can watch the games. The stadium is not a monstrosity like the Metrodome, but a fixture that has slowly blended into the landscape over the past 80 years or so. Walking past it on Saturday night and hearing the roar of the crowd coming from within it gave me chills. Wrigleyville is good baseball culture.

Naturally, since John and I aren't made of money, we went to a bar in Wrigleyville to watch the game. Pretty much every bar in the neighborhood was packed with huge lines of people waiting to get in. We found one that let us in right away and, standing between crowds of people and immersed in the stench of cigar and cigarette smoke we watched the Cubs fold like a crappy poker player. Aramis Ramirez came to bat with two runners in scoring position in the 4th and his at-bat was ABYSMAL! I doubt I have ever seen such ugly swinging strikes in my life. By the 6th inning, it had become apparent to John and I that the Cubs were squandering way to many scoring opportunities and intuited that the Cubs were about to be eliminated. Seeing as how neither John nor I are dyed-in-the-wool Cubs fans (Astros and Twins, respectively), we felt it prudent to leave the bar after the 6th. Whether out of fear of being made the brunt of people's pent-up aggression or fear of being drowned in the inevitable flood of tears that would eminate from the patrons, we didn't feel comfortable seeing out the defeat with the rest of the crowd.

And as it was, the Cubs collapsed to a 3-game sweep by the D-Backs. Wait until next year, I suppose? Hey at least they can afford to keep the free agents they want.

All this being said: go to Wrigley Field. Just do it, ok?