So says the author of this letter to the editor in the Chicago Tribune (free reg. req.). I was raised on Chicago's South Side, albeit Hyde Park, then an academic enclave surrounded by tough neighborhoods (it has changed a lot since then). As a little kid, I saw the early, early Chicago Bulls, when they were still playing in the International Amphitheater - redolent with the smell of recent cattle auctions. Anyone remember original Bulls star Bob Boozer? My first MLB experience was a Sox-Twins game at old Comiskey in '67, a night game.

But I subsequently became a Cubs fan and North Sider. Suffered through all the big chokes: 69, 84, 89. It was brutal. Yet the letter writer claims Cubs fans blame historic curses for their team's inevitable choke act when showtime (i.e. league playoffs) comes, whereas the Sox make no excuses and take their post-season misfortunes like real men.

Ah.....beg to differ. It's just the media, hyping ghosts past. And fate itself. Besides which: who cares whether The Cubs win or not? Just going to a game at one of the two last real MLB stadiums, Wrigley Field, is enough. For a truly autentico experience, sit in the left field bleachers, quaff some frosty ballpark beer, and if you catch a homer by the visiting team, make sure to throw it back onto the field.

But if you're seated right on the sidelines, PLEASE don't try to catch a foul ball at the edge of the playing field, snatching the descending orb right out of the glove of a Cub; allowing the batter to walk; and starting an eight-run inning for the three-runs-down visiting team in a key playoff series, one that the Cubs subsequenly lost after holding a three-games-to-one lead.

Cursed? Hah! Just not HUNGRY enough!

So we're clear, my old hometown knows championships - in the not-so-distant past, even. The Bulls had their great run - six NBA titles, was it? - in the golden age of Michael Jordan (below). Nothing like it ever again. Dennis Rodman's best and highest use was with the Bulls, Scottie Pippen's, and Horace Grant's, too. A team for the ages. And I'm NOT a sports geek. But these guys were something to watch.

And of course, the Chicago Bears won the Super Bowl in '85.....I watched and rooted them them home, each and every game. My not-yet-wife and I were living then on the 49th floor of Park Tower, a soaring black triangular high-rise along Lake Shore Drive in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood; we had a view north to Wisconsin, and west to the Schaumburg skyline - be still, my heart - on clear days. Now, there's another, newer building by the exact same name, downtown. My then-editor called before the big Super Bowl blowout against the New England Patriots (44-7 it was) and asked to come over to our Park Tower haunts and watch the game, as for some reason his wife had booted him out of the house. We had a fine time.

Super Bowl and '85 season highlights came partly courtesy of coach Mike Ditka, author of the new '85 season memoir, "In Life, First You Kick Ass." Plus Jim McMahon, the miracle QB; wide receiver Willie Gault; and of course, the always-eating, lineman William "The Refrigerator" Perry - now available for meet 'n greets, autograph signings and special appearances (like, ah, lemmesee.....the IPO launch for your online barbeque futures firm?). You can still get the funky rap video the team cut, "The Super Bowl Shuffle," now available in DVD format. You don't want to miss this one, trust me.

Glory days aside, I just don't see any more Chicago pro sports championships in the cards, for a few more decades, at least. And if it were To Be...The Sox... this year, sorry, I couldn't get excited. The White Sox just never rocked my world. I guess for me their ineffable stolidity was no match for the Cubbies' flailing, brilliant unpredictability.

BONUS SUPER-TRIVIA QUESTION: What well-known Cubs 1969 third baseman hailed from Seattle? AND (the really hard part, which I know only because of an article I wrote a few years ago) what Seattle Black Panther chapter co-founder, as a kid, trampled this very same Chicago Cubs' dad's Seattle tomato patch, and got a friendly lecture plus some pan-fried veggies as a result? E-mail me at the address under "Contact," above, with the correct answer, and earn honorable mention on this blog, plus a copy of Rosenblog readers' favorite chicken recipes. (Hey...it's what I've got to offer now, OK?)

TECHNORATI TAGS: CHICAGO, WHITE SOX, CUBS, BULLS, BEARS, MICHAEL JORDAN, MIKE DITKA

TO COMMENT: The regular "comment" feature is not in operation. E-mail comments to address under "Contact" on main page masthead, and I'll add them, here.

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at October 14, 2005 11:05 PM