Cubs Marketing Department Playing with Fire

Maybe, it's the way the Bud Light Bleachers have been marketed over the last three decades.

How Much Do I Love Baseball? Let Me Count the Ways

According to my father, the only way to keep me quiet and still as a baby was to sit me in front of a Cubs game on TV. The voice of Jack Brickhouse apparently had a hypnotic effect on me, and for better or worse, I've been hooked on baseball ever since.

Building a Winner is Not a Zero-Sum Game

Much of the debate regarding how the Cubs should go about building a winner has centered on whether the team should "play the kids" or pursue a quicker fix.

Milner Rains on Rainey's Parade

"C'mon Chris, give it up!" has been the constant refrain of family members and friends in recent weeks.

Fly It High For Mr. Cub

I must've heard it a million times. Every time the name of Ernie Banks is mentioned in a conversation or during a broadcast, my grandfather will describe the typical Banks home run.

All Shook Up

The end of summer was near, second grade was beckoning, and the Cubs' fortunes were plummeting. If that wasn't bad enough, my mother informed me on the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 16, 1977, that I would be accompanying her and my Aunt Barb to Orland Square Mall. I had been planning to watch that afternoon's game between the Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates, but a 7-year-old's plans are quite often trumped by Mom's.

Memories of 8-8-88

The 1984 Cubs ushered in the "yuppie era" at Wrigley Field. Seemingly overnight, the ballpark transformed from a slowly decaying, outdated, quirky facility to a 40,000-seat singles bar, a tourist attraction, and a baseball shrine. Harry Caray went from being an old, washed-up White Sox announcer to the hip grandfatherly Cub Fan, Bud Man. The bars that surrounded the park changed from quaint family-owned dives with juke boxes to corporate-owned establishments with dee jays. In the old days, the surrounding rooftops were usually empty and only occasionally would someone be seen watching the game from an across-the-street perch. After Ryno, Jody, The Sarge, and The Penguin, the rooftops became Big Business.

Chris and Ronnie's Grand Night

I lost interest in the All-Star Game long ago, but when I was a kid the Midsummer Classic was a very big deal.

Win One For Pops

Nobody has accompanied me to Cubs games at Wrigley Field more than my grandfather.

Pops took me to several games each season. He took me to my first Jacket Day in 1976, he made sure I was at the Friendly Confines the day in 1982 that they retired Ernie Banks' No. 14, and in 1988 he took me to the first scheduled night game at Wrigley Field It was at that game that he bought me my first Wrigley beer.

About The Editor

My name is Chris ... and I'm a Cubs fan.

I was a rambunctious baby, but according to my father, the easiest way to keep me quiet and still was to sit me in front of a Cubs game on TV. The voice of Jack Brickhouse apparently had a hypnotic affect on me, and for better or worse, I've been hooked on Cubs baseball ever since.

I was born and raised on the South Side and can remember being made fun of by the other kids on my way to and from school because I was wearing my Cubs jacket or Cubs cap. Sox fans, even at a young age, are an intolerant bunch.