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If there is one thing Chicago sports fans hold near and dear to their hearts, it’s rivalries. As the Chicago Bears are a second-religion in my house (sometimes the first), I know that anything or anyone in Green or Gold is the enemy.
But when looking at the Cubs in 2018, two years removed from a World Series Championship, do regular season rivalries mean the same thing? Does a showdown with the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers or even the Chicago White Sox have the same feeling it once did now that the Cubs have won it all?
These questions come as the Cubs just lost 2 out of the 3 to the rival Milwaukee Brewers and square off against the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend. These series used to be the talk of the town as the Cubs were always chasing the ‘perfect’ organization, in the Cardinals, and their rivals just north in the Brewers.
Cubs fans hated the Cardinals because they seemed to have built a flawless system top to bottom, with World Series titles to show for it. The Brewers were always battling the Cubs for divisional position, squeaking out a few playoff appearances before the Cubs built back up. The Cubs continued to sit behind in the bottom tier of the division. But in 2018, that has all changed.
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Laurence Holmes of 670 The Score brought up the idea this week, that these rivalries meant so much 5-10 + years ago because the roles were completely reversed, and I agree. The Cubs were always chasing, trying to grasp at that division title. It’s why fans looked at the standings everyday from 2007-2008, when Alfonso Soriano was propelling the Cubs to heights fans hadn’t seen in decades. It was all about the fight to the finish of the regular season, the glimmer of hope of reaching first place, and ultimately a chance at a postseason berth.
After looking up all the Cubs walkoff wins wince 2008 here's the last time the Cubs hit a walkoff Grand Slam when Alfonso Soriano did it against the Astros https://t.co/4QWKNHREkI
— Greg Slu (@gregslusarski02) June 7, 2018
But 3 straight NLCS appearances can make fans greedy and smarter, and because the Cubs are the kings of the N.L Central until they are dethroned, the buzz around the rivalries has been lessened.
Just take a look at the first leg of the Cubs and White Sox series at Wrigley this year. It was one of the most under-promoted and under-hyped series between the Northsiders and Southsiders in recent memory. The Cubs were so far ahead of the Sox both on and off the field, that the games didn’t even matter.
Cubs fans have bigger goals now, as they should, and seem less inclined to worry about rivalries in the regular season when the goal is now that much greater and in fact achievable.
The team itself appears to abide by the philosophy as well. The ‘rivalry’ games on the schedule are simply just another game to them, in their marathon season. They are just one more team in the way of their ultimate goal, a World Series title.
As an avid Chicago sports fan, I know this column may not sit well with some die-hard fans, and I am not saying we shouldn’t stick to our rivalries between the Cubs and the teams we love to hate. The argument, however, is that Cubs’ fans mentalities have changed, where beating the Cardinals 10 times a year isn’t good enough anymore.
The goal is a World Series or bust, and that is something Chicago is still getting used to.
Taking a look back at Cubs days of old, many can tell you where they were when Aramis Ramirez took down the Brewers in 2007, cracking Len Kasper’s voice forever.
Or they can replay the screams in their head after Neifi Perez hit a 10th inning grand slam against the Cardinals in 2005. (Maybe that was just my house).
But those moments were so important in those years because it is all Cubs fans had to hold onto. Following individual player achievements and occasional postseason berths were what Cubs fans looked forward to every year, knowing they would probably never get to see the World Series Trophy paraded around Wrigley Field.
Well, that reality has changed, and it has changed Cubs fans forever.
Going back to the beginning of this column, the reason the Bears and Packers rivalry is still so important and so meaningful, is because Bears’ fans have had nothing else to hope for over the last 30 + years. While there were many exciting seasons during Lovie Smith’s time with the team, or even Dick Jauron’s before then, a Super Bowl title has eluded the Bears since 1985.
Because of that futility, especially over the last 7 seasons, some of the worst in Bears history statistically, fans have had only 2 dates each year to look forward to. The two games against Green Bay. The rivalry is felt to be larger because it is the closest thing to a Super Bowl the Bears get to play in each year. That narrative can change if the Bears start winning, just like the Cubs.
The bitter rivalry between Halas and Lombardi’s teams won’t go away, in fact it will probably never go away, but if the Bears win a Super Bowl, that becomes the ultimate goal year in and year out. A win against the Packers becomes secondary. Is Aaron Rodgers happy when he beats the Bears to appease tradition and the storied rivalry between the franchises? Probably. But would he take the loss if it meant ultimately winning the Super Bowl instead? Absolutely.
The same story can be said for another Chicago team, the Blackhawks. When the NHL realignment took place in 2013, fans were up in arms that the Detroit Red Wings were no longer in the same division as the Blackhawks. Is it upsetting to fans that the teams don’t get to play each other as much based on their history and divisional rivalry? Yes. But the Hawks have won 2 Stanley Cups since that realignment and I have not heard a peep about that Hawks’ fans deeply missing that rivalry since. Why? Becuase the championships triumph over all else.
Do regular season rivalries still matter in sports, in particular for the Cubs? Of course they do. But now that the Cubs have tasted a championship, their fans are recognizing that their World Series aspirations each year are in fact possible. And if that takes a little buzz away from a June series with the Cardinals, I think myself and most Cubs fans are starting to realize, that’s okay.
