Wrigleyville Nights – Game 2: Hot dogs of expectation

Justin Allen, NBC5 Street Team

I’ve never seen a bar crowd lose hope faster than they did last night at Murphy’s Bleachers during Game 2 of the Cubs/Dodgers NLDS series. Watching the game with a few friends (all of whom are die-hard and weathered Cubs fans), we were amazed at lack of faith in the Boys in Blue displayed by even the most ardent and naive of bandwagoners. I’m sorry, but isn’t that the bandwagoner’s sole job? To cling to the idea of a miraculous 9th inning, come-from-behind victory despite all odds and evidence to the contrary?

So what? So let's dance!

Anyway, this got me to thinking…when it comes to watching the Cubs (or any other Chicago sports team, for that matter), your sanity depends on one thing: expectations. For example: you order a hot dog and demand that it tastes like a steak.  You silly goose.  That’s like asking any white male with a pulse not to dance to a Huey Lewis and the News song…it’s just not going to happen.

The same can be said for watching the Cubs in the postseason.  When they’re down 5-0 in the second inning with their ace on the mound, it’s a little unrealistic to scream at the TV when they can’t mount a comeback, then swear off the Cubs until next season.  But what’s a Cubs fan to do?  It a tough and depressing world out there for us, right?  Hell, this video (written and produced by yours truly after last year’s postseason sweep) is a testament to that fact:

Well here’s a tip I picked up from my father-in-law (a lifelong southsider and, get this, a White Sox fan) on how to deal with the heartache and stress that comes with being a Chicago sports fan: lower your expectations and lesson your anguish. Don’t demand that hot dog you’re mealing down on start tasting like a filet, and don’t think for one second that goofy white dude’s going to stop cutting a mean rug to “The Heart of Rock n’ Roll”, and for the love of all that is holy in this world, don’t think the Cubs are going to win it all this year.

Instead, base your expectations on a pitch-by-pitch, hit-by-hit and inning-by-inning basis, and you might make it through this postseason with some sanity…and you just might see a hell of a comeback while you’re at it!