Ours Go to 11: Volume 37, Notable Games Attended -- Regular Season

Had things proceeded as scheduled, last night--June 13, 2020--I would have watched my beloved Chicago Cubs play a regular-season, Major League Baseball game against their Arch rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals.

Rather than at Wrigley Field or Busch Stadium, this game would've taken place at London Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, England.

Hopefully it will be rescheduled for 2021, or as safe, and I will be able to plan a different European jaunt and attend.

But theoretically, it would be a once in a lifetime event, to see the Cubs play in Europe.

So for now, I will draw upon my memory banks--and perhaps even more so, ticket stubs--to list some of the most notable, memorable and/or cherished games I've attended across various sports.

It seems a bit unfair to loop together regular season and playoff/exhibition games, so here I'll focus only on the former, and will follow up with a subsequent post covering the latter.

But this is quite inexact. I've been fortunate to attend many games over the years, some at the gracious invite of friends, relatives, bosses, etc. How I attended, or with whom, isn't a criteria I'm much considering, but I remain extremely grateful to those who treated me, joined me, traveled with me, etc. 

I recall very few outcomes or specific happenings within games, and while I've been to games at 40 different major league baseball stadiums, vary rarely do the venues factor into the choices below. I was also a vendor at several Chicago games between 1985-89, which I'll include in some cases, but sparingly.

Perhaps inadvertently, I'm leaving out several Cubs vs. White Sox games I attended, and mostly won't include games I went to in order to see all-time greats--Cal Ripken Jr., Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Sanders, LeBron James, Allen Iverson, etc.--or to observe pre-game ceremonies or get promotional items.

And as I feel apt, I'll lump a few games together. 

The Most Memorable Regular Season Games I Was At

1. April 18, 2007: Chicago White Sox vs. Texas Rangers - Mark Buehrle No-Hitter
It was a freezing evening game at U.S. Cellular Field that I attended with three friends. I would've happily left at any point the Rangers got a hit, but they never did. Sox won 6-0.

See video within article

2. August 8 / 9, 1988: Chicago Cubs vs. Philadelphia Phillies / New York Mets - Lights at Wrigley
The first night game at Wrigley Field never officially happened, as after 91-year-old Harry Grossman flipped the switch on 8/8/88--I was there as a vendor--Mother Nature stalled the game in the middle of the 4th inning. Fortunately I was back the next night for the first official night game at Wrigley, against the Mets. Cubs won 6-4.

3. September 6, 1998: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds - Old Busch Stadium, St. Louis
Incidentally, Long Gone Summer, which chronicles Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa's home run chase of 1998 premieres tonight on ESPN. I attended this late-season game in St. Louis as McGwire sat at 60 HR (Sosa was at 58). However I may feel now about both stars presumably juicing, the atmosphere was electric then. McGwire did not homer (nor did Sammy on the day), so nothing noteworthy happened in this game, it was just cool to be there. Over the next two nights, against the Cubs at Busch (I wasn't there) McGwire hit HR 61 and 62, tying and breaking Roger Maris' longstanding record. He finished the year with 70 HR; Sosa 66.

4. January 2 & 24, 2003: Chicago Bulls vs. Washington Wizards - United Center
I saw Michael Jordan play in person about 10 times across his career, mostly with the Bulls. Some of these games are noted below. But after he unretired to play a final two seasons with the Wizards, I had a ticket for a 2002 game at the UC in which he didn't play and also unwittingly bought a fake ticket for his final game at Madison Square Garden in New York in March 2003. But I did attend his first and last visits to the Jordan -- err, United -- Center in the 2002-03 season. He had a combined 21 points, but so what. I cheered loudly.

5. June 17 / 18, 2000: New York Yankees vs. Chicago White Sox, Old Yankee Stadium; Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees, Fenway Park
On a brief East Coast jaunt highlighted by seeing Bruce Springsteen at Madison Square Garden, the next afternoon I would see the White Sox clobber the Yankees 17-4 on my second ever visit to the original Yankee Stadium. I would then take a train to Boston, where my sister Allison lived, and the next night we went to a game at Fenway, my first at the venerable home of the Boston Red Sox ballpark. The Yankees won 22-1. I don't know if any other team has had a 34-run loss to win swing in 2 days.

6. September 8, 1985: Chicago Cubs vs. Cincinnati Reds, Wrigley Field - Pete Ties Ty in a Tie
Before he would disgrace himself for getting caught betting on baseball, Pete Rose became the Hit King by surpassing Ty Cobb's 4,191. On a Sunday in Chicago, late in my first season as a vendor, "Charlie Hustle" tied Ty--he'd surpass him Wednesday in Cincinnati--in a game that would officially end in a 5-5 tie. Per #2 above, Wrigley didn't yet have lights.

7. March 1, 2014: Chicago Blackhawks vs. Pittsburgh Penquins, Soldier Field
I went to a handful of Hawks games during their dynasty era, including a Stanley Cup Final game. But this outdoor "Stadium Series" game at Soldier Field was really cool, especially as it was freezing. And it was also my first chance to see the Penquins' superstar Sidney Crosby live in person. The Blackhawks won 5-1 in front of nearly 63,000 fans.

8. June 7, 2003: Chicago Cubs vs. New York Yankees - Wrigley Field
Roger Clemens aiming for career win #300 vs. Kerry Wood. The series marked the first Yankees visit to Wrigley since 1932. Cubs won 5-2 but game marred by a scary injury to the Cubs' Hee-Seop Choi. 

9. March 9, 1985: Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz - Chicago Stadium
First time I saw Michael Jordan in person. He scored 28 but the Jazz won 111-105, led by Darrell Griffith's 40 points. Orlando Woolridge had 35 for the Bulls.

10. May 2, 2000: Chicago Cubs vs. Houston Astros - Wrigley Field
Kerry Wood's return to action after more than a year on the Disabled List. He went 6 innings for the win in a 11-1 Cubs victory, and also hit a 2-run homer.

11. November 26, 2011: Chelsea vs. Wolves, Stamford Bridge stadium, London
My friend Paolo was in London on business, staying in a corporate flat, so I visited him. Though I had seen some great international soccer stars play in Chicago, I'd never been to a game--of any kind--in another country. Paolo is a huge fan, of soccer and Chelsea, so we went to Stamford Bridge and got tickets from a "tout" (i.e. scalper). It was a fun experience; Chelsea won 3-0. I can't trace who scored goals, but notables on Chelsea's roster included Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Daniel Sturridge, Fernando Torres and Ashley Cole.

A few others

- September 5, 1983: White Sox v A's - First-place Sox won 11-1 enroute to playoffs. Went with my childhood (and still) pal Jordan; Floyd Bannister started.
- August 6, 1984: Cubs vs. Mets - First-place Cubs beat second-place Mets (with Dwight Gooden starting) 9-3; taken by summertime boss, sat 1st row behind Cubs dugout
- April 8, 1999: Blackhawks vs. Rangers - Wayne Gretzky's last visit to Chicago. The crowd and the Hawks gave him a great salute.
- April 14 (or 15), 1981: White Sox vs. Brewers - I remember my took me and a friend to a game right at the start of the Sox first season with Carlton Fisk (alongside Greg Luzinski). April 14 was opening day, but the 15th would've been a much easier ticket. I don't have the stub or much recollection, but do recall my dad being pickpocketed on the L.  
- February 15, 2000: Bulls vs. Lakers - Phil Jackson's first visit to the UC as Lakers coach on a title-bound team with Shaq and Kobe. Lakers won 88-76
- November 26, 1991: Bulls vs. Clippers, LA Sports Arena - Living in L.A. from 1990-92, I convinced a colleague to accompany me to see Michael, who scored 23 in a 116-79 Bulls win.
- December 9, 1995: Bulls vs. Bucks, Bradley Center, Milwaukee - My friend Mark and I went up to Milwaukee early in the Bulls' 72-win, 4th ring season. Adorned in black uniforms, the Bulls won 118-106; Michael had 45.
- Various dates, 1990-92, 1996: Cubs vs. Dodgers, Dodger Stadium - I don't recall any game in particular, but it was always fun to see the Cubs in L.A., when I lived there and on a return visit.
- March 30, 2014: Fluminense vs. Vasco de Gama, Maracana, Rio de Janeiro - The famed Maracana had been reconfigured down from a 200,000 capacity to 80,000 and wasn't even 1/4 full for this game, but it was still fun to attend.
- September 11 / 12, 2005: San Francisco Giants vs. San Diego Padres, SBC Park - As noted above, I've been to many baseball stadiums, and my favorite beyond Wrigley is the Giants' home on the Bay. And while I hated Barry Bonds, even in real time, the game on 9/12 marked his first of 2005 after 4 straight MVP seasons. So it was kinda cool.

Ramble On: A Fun Night Watching Loyola Beat Valparaiso in College Basketball

Unlike some previous years, my recent barrage of Best of 2018 blog posts didn't contain any references to my sports fandom, whether in noting games attended, teams followed, athletes admired or moments savored.

But along with largely stellar and highly enjoyable seasons by the Chicago Cubs and Bears--which ended all too abruptly, in the former case with me in attendance at a marathon Wild Card loss--the Loyola Ramblers' run to the NCAA Final Four was a definite highlight.

I don't follow college basketball very closely during the regular season, and didn't know the 2017-18 Ramblers were doing really well until just days before they made the tourney.

So although I probably could've gone to a game last season--or many others--I never gave it much thought.

But it was a thrill following Loyola through the tournament, and although they haven't played that well to date this season--they now stand at 11-7--I've had in mind that I should get to a game.

Although it may have been just as easy on prior occasions, I seized the opportunity last night, as Coach Porter Moser, the world's most famous nun--99-year-old Sister Jean, who delivered an invocation--and the Ramblers hosted the Crusaders from Valporaiso University.

Valpo, at 4-0, had been atop 3-1 Loyola in Missouri Valley Conference play, but somewhat surprisingly, the matchup failed to fill the Gentile Arena, with less than 4,500 seats on the lakefront campus.

I would've been able to buy a seat at the box office for $14-$20, but on Monday night found one for just $6+ fees on StubHub.

And getting to the game after work downtown was as easy as can be, with the arena just steps from the Loyola stop on the CTA Red Line.

From the tourney run I had come to recognize a few Ramblers still on the team--Clayton Custer, Marques Townes, Cameron Krutwig--and they were among six Loyola players in double figures.

Valparaiso's starting center was a 7'1" junior named Derrik Smits, who I assumed and was able to corroborate as the son of longtime Indiana Pacers center, Rik Smits.

Moser seemed considerably more demonstrative than I'd perceived from TV, as he seemed to be screaming at someone after nearly every play. But the Ramblers crushed the Crusaders 71-54--they had been up 29 with 6:31 left to play--and this seemed the kind of game that could be a catalyst to better fortunes going forward.

Having attended Northern Illinois University in the late '80s, when the football and men's basketball teams were so-so at best, I've never acutely experienced big-time college athletics.

Over the years, I've been to a handful of Northwestern, DePaul and UIC games, but never Loyola, whose hardcourt success was typically middling (or not even) in the past few decades until last season.

Given its smallish capacity, the Gentile--pronounced genteel--Arena presumably doesn't compare to the atmosphere my nephews are experiencing at Indiana University.

The student section--which I was not in--was boisterous, but not quite rocking. The environment around the arena actually seemed to be a good one for families, which is only kinda complimentary

Still, the Ramblers played well and the crowd was excited, so my evening was sufficiently fun.

I'm glad I went, don't know why I hadn't before, and hope the Ramblers can ride a hot streak the rest of the season into another NCAA tourney bid.

And the right opportunity presents itself, I'd happily ramble over again.

---
Here's a clip of the Loyola band playing "Sweet Caroline" before the game, followed by a bunch more photos.

Coach Moser in the middle.

All photos by Seth Arkin. Please do not repost without permission and attribution.

Our Cup Runneth Over, Again: A Self-Centered Appreciation of the Chicago Blackhawks

Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks.

And thank you.

Not just for beating the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the 2015 Stanley Cup, or for giving Chicago its third hockey championship in six seasons.

Certainly, I applaud, admire and appreciate the Hawks' players, coaches and front office for an accomplishment Deadspin notes is ever more amazing in the days of the NHL salary cap.

That the team has been able to retain 7 key players from the 2010 Cup champions--Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson--and augment them with a mostly revolving cast of players that helped to deliver two more titles is far more impressive than it may initially seem.

And now, at least one of the magnificent "Hat Trick Seven"--which doesn't include role player Bryan Bickell or star goalie Corey Crawford, who played just 1 game with the team in 2009-10--will supposedly be gone before next season, possibly along with other fan favorites. 

So I tip my own hat to the new, old and future constitution of a roster that has given Chicago sports bragging rights in a way not seen since the Michael Jordan Bulls (with due respect to the 2005 White Sox).

While also saying thank you to the Blackhawks for saving me from one moral dilemma and exonerating me from another.

See, I have tickets to a concert on Wednesday night--same as the potential Game 7--by Paul Weller, an artist I've long enjoyed and who doesn't tour America all that often.

I'm honestly not sure what I would have decided up against it on Wednesday--and imagine many of the 35,000 Chicagoans with Mumford & Sons tickets may have faced a similar dilemma--but appreciate the Hawks taking the quandary off my hands.

Especially as I theoretically would have chosen the concert.

After having missed the entire 2013 Stanley Cup Finals due to a trip to Europe.

At this point, I will defer to anyone who claims to be a more avid Blackhawks fan than me, and won't even deny being a bit of a bandwagon jumper. Still, I consider myself a pretty fervent follower rather than someone who only kind of cares.

I never played hockey, and as a fan it was definitely 4th among the major sports for me growing up. Unlike the Bulls, I never attended any Hawks games in the old Chicago Stadium.

Yet I'll never forget being in the 4th row of the United Center for a 1995 Conference Finals game against the Red Wings--the Hawks lost in double overtime--and averaged 2 regular season home games annually during the 1999-2008 span when the team generally sucked.

So I cared enough about the Blackhawks to get myself a ticket to their first playoff game in 2009--just their second postseason appearance in 11 years--and will never forget not seeing Martin Havlat's game-winner just seconds into overtime due to a woman next to me fiddling about in handing me back my binoculars.

And I was lucky enough to buy--through Ticketmaster for $105 + fees--a ticket to Game 1 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, in which the Hawks beat the Flyers 6-5 en route to a 4 games to 2 win.

Face value for the same seat in 2015 was $335, so I've been priced out of the Finals, but I have a nice setup at home that allows me to watch television projected across the entirety of a living room wall. During this run, my mom and sister Allison have joined me for most games, with other friends for a few, for action truly larger than life.

While I've admittedly not watched all that many regular season games, I'd estimate having seen every Blackhawks playoff game of the 7-years-running "Toews-Kane-Q Era" not precluded by a pre-existing conflict.

Such as going to Europe in 2013, centered around seeing Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band at Wembley Stadium in London on June 15--while also getting to Krakow, Vienna, Budapest and Paris--so rescheduling the trip wasn't really an option I ever considered.

I was back in London on June 24, 2013, and upon checking out of my hotel in the wee hours of the next morning to head home, checked the Chicago Tribune website to learn of the Hawks' miraculous 2-goals-in-17-seconds Game 6 Cup-clinching win, which probably happened less than an hour earlier.

On one hand, I obviously wished I could have seen this--and technically, had I searched for the right London pub and stayed up all night, possibly could have--but in addition to being thrilled for the Blackhawks rather than wishing for a watchable Game 7, I felt quite content with the choice I had made.

Yet something--relatively minor, but undeniably present--stuck in my craw about that, convinced that my Hawks cred was forever tarnished.

So, while delighted to take in the entire Blackhawks playoff run of 2015--with a Game 4 of the Finals conflict divinely intervened on my behalf when Robert Plant got laryngitis and postponed his June 10 concert--I was acutely aware that my Paul Weller ticket (purchased long before the Finals schedule was determined, let alone the Hawks qualifying) fell on June 17, as would (if necessary) Game 7.

Forget that I've seen Weller four times, including just last September at Riot Fest, and that his setlists now seemingly only include one song--at best--from The Jam, his great band of yore that I truly love, more than his stellar solo oeuvre.

He's a cherished favorite, I have tickets with a friend and I would have rued missing the show.

So I'm not sure I would have.

Though as much as hating myself for missing the game, the thought of being at Belmont & Sheffield--location of the Vic Theatre--after a Hawks victory may have kept me home.

But now I don't have to decide.

So as much as I'm happy that the Hawks came through--for themselves, for Chicago, for fans everywhere and for history--I appreciate them coming through for me.

And if you think about it, the Blackhawks ability to "come through" when things looked iffy is the most astonishing aspect of their phenomenal accomplishment.

History will forever note the 3 Cups in 6 years and--with hopes for more to come--reference this Hawks era as a dynasty.

Yet as the fans can tell you, their dominance hasn't always been so obvious from game to game or series to series.

Dating back to 2009, the Hawks have found themselves trailing playoff series 2 games to 1 nine times--including the 2015 Finals--and have now won six of those series, all in 6 games. That's pretty amazing.

En route to the 2013 Cup, they were down 3-1 in a series against the Red Wings before winning 3 straight. And in that Finals against the Boston Bruins--matching this year's sequence--they won Game 1, then lost the next 2 before winning the following 3, the last game in about the most dramatic comeback imaginable. (Yes, I've long since seen it on YouTube.)

So as much as it might seem the Blackhawks have the best players, the best collection of great, cohesive players and the best coach--plus, of course, the best fans--their Hat Trick sure hasn't come easy.

Just a few days ago, when the Blackhawks trailed the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1, I told a friend who inquired about their chances that their recent history suggests that anything is possible--and that their players are steadfastly, even heroically, resilient--but that the Lightning had just looked better through 3 games.

And here I am toasting their 3rd title in 6 seasons.

Phenomenal.

And after seeing Paul Weller on Wednesday night, I think I might go to the Blackhawks parade and rally on Thursday, which I didn't do in 2010 or 2013.

Though I'm certainly not oblivious to the Hawks' vast support across Chicago, among fans of all ages, races (see this video) and demographics, I've always been a bit leery of ascribing too much communal importance to a sports team's success.

I think far too much was made of how the New Orleans Saints revitalized that city with their 2009 Super Bowl win.

One can tour large parts of New Orleans today, 10 years after Hurricane Katrina and its bungled aftermath, and see the city still decimated, with numerous residents remaining displaced if not devastated, and know the Saints didn't really change reality.

Neither will the Blackhawks in Chicago, where virtually ever day sees terrible news of killings in the streets.

Here in the suburbs, I don't have too many personal complaints, beyond not being able to attain steady employment, but the past 10 days have been rather grim, as I learned of one friend taking her life, another being in the hospital following a heart attack, a third struggling to regain footing through some tough times and a fourth who learned a close relative had cancer, then almost immediately that another had died suddenly.

This, unfortunately, helps me keep the Blackhawks victory in perspective.

I'm absolutely delighted for what I witnessed--and though they'll never let me hear the end of it, glad I shared it with Mom and Allison--but cognizant of sports for what it is.

A diversion.

And if I had to divert from watching Game 7 to attend the Paul Weller concert, I don't think I would have despised or deplored myself too much for it.

But I'm glad I don't have to find out.

As Weller sang years ago with the Jam: 

"I could go on for hours and I probably will 

But I'd sooner put some joy back in this town called Malice

Ooh, yeah"

So once again, thanks Hawks.

NFL Preview 2014: What Seth Saith Will Happen...I Guess

I have always been a football fan--much more of the NFL than college--though the extent of my fandom has largely consisted of watching and following the Chicago Bears. And the Super Bowl. Which have mostly been mutually exclusive.

Sometimes I throw away money in weekly football pools, but I have never played Fantasy Football, rarely watch regular season games in which I have no rooting interest and would be hard-pressed to name many players beyond the big stars and members of the Bears.

So I can hardly think of anyone less-equipped to make NFL predictions with any degree of expertise and acuity.

But last season, rather than bother with a Football Picks Post on Seth Saith, I simply threw up a couple guesses on Facebook.

And glory be, I was exactly right. The Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl and the Bears finished 8-8.

So now I feel obliged to offer up a slightly more comprehensive football forecast prior to the 2014 NFL Season kicking off Thursday night in Seattle with the Seahawks taking on the Packers.

Mind you, my predictions will not be accompanied by any expert analysis, as I don't pretend to possess any, and unlike my other "football" (i.e. soccer) forecasts, I couldn't loop in any friends that do.

So if you need intelligence with your NFL predictions, refer to ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports,
your local newspaper or myriad other outlets.

But, as surprise teams seem to spring up every year, chances are many "expert" picks will wind up being just as wrong as mine.

So without further ado, here are my, um, guesses for the divisional standings, conference champions, Super Bowl Winner and league MVP:

NFC North

Packers 

Bears 

Lions 

Vikings

NFC East

Giants 

Eagles 

Cowboys 

Redskins

NFC West

49ers

Seahawks 

Cardinals

Rams

NFC South

Saints

Bucs

Falcons

Panthers

NFC Wild Cards

Seahawks

Bears -> record: 9-7

NFC Champion

Saints

AFC North

Ravens 

Steelers 

Bengals 

Browns

AFC East

Patriots 

Dolphins

Jets 

Bills

AFC West

Broncos

Chiefs

Chargers

Raiders 

AFC South

Colts

Jaguars

Titans

Texans

AFC Wild Cards

Chiefs

Dolphins

AFC Champion

Colts

Super Bowl Champion

Saints over Colts

NFL MVP 

Andrew Luck

I Went to a Basketball Game and Took a Few Shots -- Photo Gallery: Chicago Bulls vs. Indiana Pacers, March 24, 2014

I'm rather impressed by--and even proud of--the way the Chicago Bulls have been playing this NBA season.

Most teams who lose their best player--Derrick Rose, a former league MVP--due to injury for the second straight season, and then trade away another key scorer (Luol Deng) would struggle to win very many games. To wit, the Los Angeles Lakers are 23-46 without Kobe Bryant.

But with Joakim Noah continuing to evolve into one of the league's best players, and relatively low draft picks like Taj Gibson and Jimmy Butler performing terrifically, the Bulls stand at 40-31, fourth best in the Eastern Conference.

They are just 1 game behind earning the 3rd seed in the conference playoffs.

So, having not been to a game this season, I was happy to find fairly decent and inexpensive tickets on StubHub for Monday's game against the Indiana Pacers, the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Trailing 34-33 after a low-scoring first half, the Bulls dominated the second and won 89-77.

Including field goals, 3-pointers and free throws, they made 54 shots. Below are a few I took:

My Springsteenesque Saga of Hope and Heartbreak, Cubs Style

(In my opinion Bruce Springsteen is still the best concert performer around. But unlike "back in the day," he no longer tells long-winded stories introducing--or even amidst--his songs. The story that comes at about the 4:50 mark of this video is a prime example of which I'm referring.

Although I'll come far short of the Boss' offhand eloquence, I thought I'd try to tell this 10th anniversary recollection of a night that will live in misery as though I was leading into a song on stage. 

So I'm imagining a bed of Roy Bittan piano music as I recite this into my iPhone. (Reading it back, I realize I really don't nearly match Bruce's cadence, but go with me.))

When I was young, way before I knew any better, I became a Cubs fan. A diehard Cubs fan.

One might think this resigns you to a life of perennial pessimism, but you can't really be a Cubs fan unless you're an optimist somewhere deep, really deep, underneath.

So I can't deny that, 10 years ago, on the night of October 14, 2003, I entered Wrigley Field with hope. Hope that I might be present to witness something I never had seen, nor had most others in the ballpark that night. Or on TV around the city, country and world.

At that point it had been 58 years since the Cubs had last won the pennant and played in a World Series, which they hadn't actually won for 95 years. (It's 105 now, but who's counting.)

But, for the first time since 1908, they had just won a playoff series, the National League Divisional Series against the Braves. And I'd been there, not just for Game 3 at home, but for the Game 5 clincher in Atlanta. That was pretty damn cool.

And with the Cubs having taken a 3 games to 1 lead against the Florida Marlins in the National League Championship Series, I was ready for something even more historic.

And yes, unbelievable.

Not that I had a ticket mind you, but I went down to Wrigleyville anyway and found a scalper with a single ticket in the upper part of the upper deck--the last seat along the left-field line--for "just $300."

The Cubs jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, and when they added runs in the sixth and seventh I must admit I began to think the unthinkable. To imagine the unimaginable. To dream the impossible dream.

Although, like any real Cubs fan, I was still more acutely skeptical until proven otherwise. Nonetheless, I couldn't help but begin to get a bit giddy with anticipation. "Could this really be happening?"

No.

In the notorious 8th inning, of course, everything went to hell.

Pitcher Mark Prior, who had been dominant up to that point, started getting wild (here's my brief video of him getting pulled). Shortstop Alex Gonzales made a costly error. And, of course, there was the Steve Bartman incident.

I've never been one to blame Bartman for the loss nor to demonize him. I admire how he's kept a low profile all these years; not once seeking or accepting publicity or profit. And from my vantage point at the time, I couldn't actually see the play.

But in watching it again--through the power of YouTube--I was reminded that he really shouldn't have been reaching for the ball. 

So yes, he made a mistake--though he wasn't the only one with arms outstretched and at risk of interfering with the play--but the truth is that the Cubs made many worse. You can't hold one guy responsible for a century of futility, and Mr. Bartman deserves to be left alone, as he always has.

As history sadly recalls, the Marlins wound up scoring 8 runs in that 8th inning on route to a 8-3 victory--"Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse?" to quote Springsteen's "The River"--and I still remember feeling like something invaluable had just been snatched away from me. 

Never mind that the Cubs still had Game 7 left to attempt to win the pennant--I didn't even think about going, much--and would, in fact, have an early yet fruitless lead in that one, too.

Without meaning to over overstate it in terms of life & death importance, I--and presumably most of the 39,576 others at Wrigley and millions more Cubs fans elsewhere--was rather shattered by the brutal turn of events.

From a sports fandom standpoint, Game 6 was--and still is--the most devastating loss I have ever experienced, especially in person.

But my night didn't quite end there. As I got on the L train to head north from Addison, I happened to noticed that sitting across from me was a girl I knew.

A girl I hadn't seen for nearly a year, but had worked with just prior, and who I didn't even know was back in the U.S. after having done a teaching stint abroad.

A girl who I had, for awhile, closely befriended and for whom I had developed deeper feelings I thought (or at least hoped) were mutual.

A girl who, if it didn't sound so silly in retrospect, I fell in love with (or at least thought I did).

A girl who had rejected me when I actually asked her out.

Which I haven't really done often. In the romance department, I've been as perennial a loser as the Cubs. But every so often there's a woman of whom I dare to imagine, 'It might be, it could be...it isn't.'

So at the time, she was the one person I least would've wanted to see at that particular moment--she hadn't even
been at the game, but at a bar watching it--or at least the one most symbolically synonymous with the same feelings of disappointment and dejection the game itself had manifested.

Impossible as it was to pretend I didn't see her, we talked a bit and I don't recall it being unbearably uncomfortable; I think even at the time I could appreciate the wry irony of the encounter.

But it wasn't like out of the depths of despair rose love and marriage.

Rather it was as though fate didn't think kicking me in the nutsack once that evening was sufficient.

So you see, October 14, 2003 wasn't just a heartbreaking night for Cubs fans. For me, it was a night on which dual heartbreaks--both exacerbated by a giddy sense of anticipation soon proven foolish--callously collided. 

But by the time I got home, October 14 had turned into October 15 and I had turned 35.

And here we are 10 years down the road. The Cubs still haven't won the World Series--nor another playoff game.

And I still haven't found true love.

But yet, for the most part, happiness abounds...and hope remains.

Eternal.

Or perhaps infernal.

But with a thought that the looming possibility of euphoria might actually be better than the realization of it--and heck, as a Sox fan, too, I celebrated in 2005--in the words of the almighty Boss, "let the broken hearts stand as the price you've gotta pay..."

Genuine Baseball Picks that May Appear April Foolish

Do not, I repeat Do Not, take this to the bank, or worse, Las Vegas.

To wit, I recently filled out an NCAA Tournament bracket as part of a friend's work pool. Out of 12 entries, I am dead last. I think someone's dog beat me.

And while my 2012 Baseball Predictions didn't turn out to be a complete disaster--I correctly called 4 of the 8 playoff teams, plus the AL MVP and Cy Young Winners (as well as Andrew McCutcheon who came in 3rd in NL MVP voting)--I did pick the Philadelphia Phillies to win the World Series over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Neither made the playoffs.

So although I love baseball, I am in no way an expert and don't follow day-to-day action nearly as closely as several of my friends.

But that--and the fact the 2013 season actually started last night, with the now-in-the-American-League Houston Astros beating the Texas Rangers--won't stop me from posting...

Seth Saith's Fearless Baseball Predictions for 2013

American League East   

  

1. Tampa Bay Rays
2. Toronto Blue Jays
3. Baltimore Orioles
4. New York Yankees
5. Boston Red Sox

American League Central

1. Detroit Tigers
2. Kansas City Royals
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Cleveland Indians
5. Minnesota Twins

American League West

1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2. Oakland Athletics
3. Texas Rangers
4. Seattle Mariners
5. Houston Astros

Wild Cards: Blue Jays and Orioles
AL Pennant Winner: Tigers
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Angels
AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Tigers
White Sox Record: 83-79

National League East   

1. Washington Nationals
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. Miami Marlins
5. New York Mets

National League Central

1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Cincinnati Reds
3. Chicago Cubs
4. Milwaukee Brewers
5. Pittsburgh Pirates

National League West

1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. San Francisco Giants
3. Arizona Diamondbacks
4. Colorado Rockies
5. San Diego Padres

Wild Cards: Braves and Reds
NL Pennant Winner: Nationals
NL MVP: Matt Kemp, Dodgers
NL Cy Young: Stephen Strasburg, Nationals
Cubs Record: 78-84

World Series Winner: Detroit Tigers