It was October 14, 2003. I was a sprightly young 17 year old, watching the Cubs' inspirational playoff run in my mom's basement.
It was shaping up to be one of the great seasons in Cubs' history- and it was. The Lovable Losers were finally going to win the World Series, anchored by a rotation of Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, and a young phenom Carlos Zambrano. They had just fleeced the Pirates out of three players (Aramis Ramirez, Kenny Lofton, and Randall Simon), two of whom ended up being exceptional starting contributors to the team (Lofton and Ramirez). The Cubs won the NL Central for the first time in nearly a decade, so all we had to hear for the playoff run was the constant stream of negativity from Cubs haters and the media, and even some Cubs fans.
And I had heard it all: "The Cubs are cursed!", "They'll never win!", "They're cursed, I tell you! Cursed!". I didn't believe it.
They defeated the Braves in the NLDS, moving on to face the wild-card Florida Marlins team. Looking back on this Marlins team, they had a ton of talent. Here are just a few of the players on that team: Josh Beckett, Derrek Lee, Miguel Cabrera, AJ Burnett, and Ivan Rodriguez. At the time though, this team was just another collection of young talent in the Marlins, so no one outside of Miami knew any better.
Fast forward to Game 6: The Cubs were rolling. Leading the series 3-2, Mark Prior had a 3-0 lead, just five outs away from the World Series. Wrigley Field was rocking, and I was a giddy young baseball fan who had spent the last 2 seasons watching 90% of the Cubs' games.
Then it happened.
In the grand scheme of things, The Bartman game was seemingly just Part 15 of the whole "The Cubs are Cursed" story. As a fan of the team, quite frankly, it's hard to avoid. It's something the media and Cub haters say before each season, during each season, and it is the conveniently-wrapped package that can somehow sum up 162 games in two words: "They're cursed."
The Cubs this season (just about like every other year since 2003) were picked by the experts to win the National League pennant and get to the world series World Series. After a slow start this season, "The Curse" came back. Milton Bradley suddenly stopped producing after a huge year last season in Texas. Dempster, Lilly, and Harden all went down with injuries, the offense couldn't produce, and Pinella couldn't get it done as a manager any more. Although the Cubs were never more than four games out, that's all it took for "The Curse" to rear its ugly head again.
Now? The Cubs are back in first with the best record in baseball after the All-Star Break. I said it then and I'll say it again: The Cubs' best baseball is still ahead of them. Actually, two months ago, I wrote: " I have to keep reminding myself that the Cubs aren’t actually doing terrible this season. Despite a brash of injuries, suspensions, and streaky play, the Cubbies are only four games behind in the NL Central.". Doesn't that sound familiar? Well now, the Cubs are in first place heading into the the dog days of August, and if the Law of Averages plays out, they're all in store for a big couple of months. If not, I guess it's back to "The Curse".
With the billy goats, the black cats, and the Bartman's of the world it's easy to point the finger at curses. I just don't believe in them. I didn't believe in them in 2003, and I don't believe in them now.