A Final Message To Cubs Fans Before the Season Starts

The Cubs have looked great in Spring Training.  They have finished spring training with a 17-13 record.  Carlos Zambrano’s contract is just about finished, with the announcement of a new contract coming on Monday at the latest.  The team is ready to open the season against Aaron Harang in a rematch of last years’ Opening Day.  This is a way different ballclub then last year and there are high expectations on the north side.  I guess that’s why I am writing this post to send a message to Cubs’ fans.

I have been worried about the behavior of Cubs fans lately.  Last year was especially brutal.  Cubs fans have always been known as good, loyal fans, Ernie even named it the Friendly Confines.  Many ex-Cubs have said that every ballplayer should experience starting at Wrigley at least once in their careers.  But as we reach one hundred years since our last World Series, some fans are getting impatient.  The one thing that bothers me the most has been the booing.  I always made it a rule to never boo a Cubs player unless they say something negative about the fans.  The booing was out of control last year and I think it gave all Cubs fans a bad rap. 

Juan Pierre told the Trib that;

"Chicago might be a good place to play, but it is a tough place to lose, one of the toughest.  They love their Cubbies in that town, and they sell out almost every game at Wrigley. We lost almost 100 games and the fans voiced their opinion.  It was unpleasant and sometimes it got nasty, but you knew they were yelling because they love their team. That’s what made it so disappointing."

If that’s the opinion of a good guy like Pierre, you know that other players probably have heard the same or worst about Cubs’ fans.  That’s only going to hurt the Cubs’ chances of signing free agents.  One thing I have noticed over the years is that free agents, like Juan Pierre and Jacque Jones last year, take a little bit of time to adjust to playing day games.  The Cubs play more day games than any other team in baseball.  I don’t remember any free agent coming over and starting out that fast.  Pierre and Jones finally got in a good rhythm and finished with good numbers, but the season was a bust.  The fans last year were especially cruel to Jones.

"I have no problem with fans being impatient," first baseman Derrek Lee said. "I like it. I like the sense of urgency. I don’t like how they treated Jacque, throwing [a ball] at him and the racist comments. That’s uncalled for.

"I don’t mind the fans being impatient over winning. I think we need that as a team. We need the urgency. We feel like, ‘Let’s get it done or they’re going to be on us.’ I like that part of it."

I don’t know who is still stuck in the 1950′s, yelling racial slurs or sending racist hate mail, but please stop.  Root for another team or change your ways, but don’t give the rest of the Cubs’ fans a bad name just because you are ignorant.  Former reliever LaTroy Hawkins, former manager Don Baylor, and former centerfielder Corey Patterson were all the victims of these ignorant comments.  In fact former manager Dusty Baker said he didn’t want to call up Felix Pie last year because he didn’t want to expose him to the same type of treatment that Patterson got.  Was it Patterson’s fault he was poorly coached?  You think he wanted to strike out all the time?  And finally, do you think the booing helped his situation or made it worse? 

I always talk about my great experiences at Wrigley, but my worst occured last year when the Cubs played the White Sox at Wrigley.  Dempster blew another lead in the ninth, losing the game to our crosstown rivals.  I was just as upset as any Cubs’ fan was, but then people started throwing garbage on the beautiful Wrigley Field outfield.  It was just sickening.  I know some of the guys on the ground crew who were had to come out and pick up the garbage thrown on the field.  It was embarassing to the whole city of Chicago. 

It’s not just Cubs fans either.  Chicago fans in general need to remember that it’s only a game.  Whether it was the father and son white trash tag team that attacked the Royals first base coach a few years back at a White Sox game, or the people in Soldier Field who booed Grossman and the Bears as they were heading to the Superbowl, we need to stop this.  We are turning into a second rate Philidelphia.  What’s next, throwing snowballs at Santa Claus like some Philly fans did a few years back?

Look, I know what it’s like to watch a team play badly.  And the prices of the tickets are high, so I’m not going to tell you how to act.  And I have been drunk at many a Cubs’ games so I am not going to criticize anyone for drinking.  All I am saying is that everyone needs to support our Cubbies.  If you want to get angry, talk to a friend, call a sports radio show, comment on this blog or any other Cubs blog, but don’t boo, don’t act like an idiot, and for God’s sake, don’t make any racial comments.  You want to show the Cubs your displeasure;  Don’t show up to the games.  When you don’t go, like fans did last year, then they lose money on parking, souveniers, beer, food, and much more.  That’s what helped cause the shake up at the end of the last season and it sends a strong message to management.  It says that we won’t show up and spend money if they won’t put a quality product on the field.  I have taken down all my photos from last season’s games that I attended.  Come Monday, it’s a fresh new start.  If Soriano, Ramirez, or any other players start out slow, relax, it’s a long season.  Let’s be supportive and see if we can will our Cubbies to a post season run.

And let’s put the "Friendly" back into the "Friendly Confines".

Go Cubs!