Napoleon once said that "Leaders are dealers in hope." If that is true, then those of us who are fans fo the Chicago Cubs might be the best equipped to be leaders. For is, hope always springs eternal. We live to believe that this is our year to win it all. We are perennial losers, but keep coming back for more every year. We believe that until the team is mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, there is still a chance (never mind that we might be 20 games out first place - as long as there are 2o games left to play, there is still a chance).
But this year is different - or so it seems at this point. With only seven days left in the season, the Cubs are in first place in their division by 3 1/2 games. That's huge. As I watched my team win yesterday (and also watched as the Brewers lost) I could not help but have a tear in my eye - a tear of joy and a tear of sorrow, because while hope springs eternal, it is still not over. I keep replaying scenarios in my mind of a six game losing streak to finish the season...or of a playoff game next Monday in which Dempster gives up a 10th inning home run...or of Big Z falling apart over the final two months of the season (oh wait - that has already happened).
However, I am a Cub fan - I have always been a Cub fan (there are no such things as ex-Cub fans) - and I know that after 99 years of frustration, this is our year. Many thanks to Sweet Lou who juggled the lineup more than I could have imagined and got us to this point. And many thanks to the baseball Gods, who just seem to be smiling on us this year.
OK, so this did not have a lot to do with leadership per se. But i still hold out that Cub fans have what it takes to be strong leaders.
