The Chicago Cubs tied it up last night....like a beautiful package with a large bow.. This team who couldn't get their bats around on any pitch the 5 previous games were hot, hitting balls all over the place. Their reward? They get one more chance to win it all......the World Series. [By the time you read this The Chicago Cubs will have clinched the 7th game and World Series Championship]
The last time Chicago took home the championship was 1908. Don't know if anyone is alive now who was alive then. They have been waiting a long time for this moment; the dreaded curse of the billy goat has apparently kept them from the big prize since then.
They are up against Cleveland, who until the Cavs brought home the NBA championship, was one of the saddest sports towns in America. Cleveland has been waiting since 1948 for the big prize in baseball, and until last night, they looked like shoe ins. They have their own curse. Last night's commentators shared the fear expressed by some Cleveland fans that the NBA championship used up all their 'karma' and so the 'curse' would continue. Really. They said that.
Boy this reminds me of those folks I meet at social events who want to tell me about how God is punishing them for past deeds, has cursed their lives, has failed to bless them. I could point out that if each of us were punished rightly for the wrongs we had committed none of us could stand. I could point out that it only takes a little digging to find a few 'curses' in most folks' lives. I could count for them the multiple blessings of their lives. [I don't because it is a waste of time and I want to get to the buffet table before all the good stuff disappears].
But that would take away all the wonderful energy around a curse, Right now these folks have a story to tell; they can set themselves apart by the harshness of their lives. Enviously comparing their lives to the lives of others provides them with a built in hobby.
Plus it would take away all their responsibility. With a curse from God hanging around, there is no accountability for me or my actions or frankly, my foul humor. It is living one's life as a glass half empty....and being constantly on the prowl to find the person who drank half your glass. It is exhausting to just think about it.
I am cheering for Cleveland [simply because Major League is a household favorite movie] but I will be equally pleased if Chicago wins. Someone will get to take home an obscene World Series ring (if the NBA rings are any indication). Someone will get a ticker tape parade. Someone will be disappointed. No curses here. Just winners and losers.
Or winners and bigger winners. Both teams got to play in the Big Show and to provide wonderful moments of shared joy and angst and memories for thousands of fans. All the players will have a note in their playing history that they were a part of this year's battle for the Championship. If the 'losers' can't see the wonder of that, then what can I tell them?
If you are looking for reasons to moan, you won't have to look far.
If you are looking for reasons to give thanks, it is even easier.
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