BY DUBS
As I am writing this introduction, Ken Griffey Jr. just struck out to end game four of the ALDS and the White Sox 2008 season. To a degree the Sox season was somewhat of a surprise and a success. Many believed they did not ever have a shot at the playoffs. For the Cubs it was quite the opposite. Most “experts” believed the Cubs would win it all, or at least make it to the World Series. THIS YEAR WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE YEAR. Jonathan Broxton ended that.
To try and cope with the Chicago futility the last couple days, I asked the boys of TTCS to share with me their most disappointing Chicago sports moments in their lifetimes. Since we are all pretty young, we started with 1985. Here is what they came up with. Also, what are your greatest Chicago sports disappointments (from any era)? Vent in the comment section.
Matt O
2006 Super Bowl XLI - The 1985 Bears are undoubtedly the most celebrated team in the history of this city. Even though I was alive when the original Monsters of the Midway were punishing quarterbacks nationwide, there is an unspeakable emptiness deep within when I speak of them. Despite being able to name nearly every player on that roster, the 1985 Bears weren’t really my team. Sure, I still revel in their dominance as much as the next Bears fan, but the memories I have are more from highlights than watching things unfold in person. I attribute this mostly to the fact that I don’t remember much of that time period. And you can’t even blame me considering I was only four-years-old.
And that’s why watching the Bears lose to the Colts in Super Bowl XLI was the most disappointing sports moment in my life.
They were MY team.
I knew them inside and out. I knew their tendencies, their stats, their bios, their everything. I absorbed every single piece of literature I could throughout the week and rooted for them like a man possessed every Sunday. And when that fateful day came when we were to cement our legacy as the NFL’s most respected franchise, I teetered on the edge of pure insanity, going nearly four hours without speaking to anyone except for inanimate objects who I could take my rage out on.
You know the rest.
Fumble here, fumble there, blown coverage here, missed tackle there and boom: Colts 29, Bears 17. I have yet to let this one go and probably never will. I will never forgive Lovie Smith for leaving Rex Grossman in that game to literally throw it all away. I will never forgive the defense for letting Reggie Wayne embarrass them on the biggest stage in the world.
I will never forgive the 2006 Chicago Bears.
The Dismantling of the Chicago Bulls Dynasty - Michael Jordan. Scottie Pippen. Phil Jackson. Each wiped away from the collective conscious of Chicagoans by one man’s larger than life ego: Jerry Krause.
For six years we were spoiled by the Bulls. For six years we were the proud fans of a franchise and a player that will go down as the greatest to EVER play the game. But that wasn’t good enough for Jerry Krause. Why, you ask? To Krause, recognition of his self-describe brilliance superseded any thoughts of doing whatever necessary to keep this legendary team together until their day of retirement was upon them. Strong enough words do no exist in the English dictionary to describe my personal hatred towards Jerry Krause. In an instant, the Bulls were transformed from the greatest ever to the league’s laughing stock in 1999.
All good things do come to an end at some point. This I cannot deny. But you’d much rather wait for it to end naturally instead of allowing a bloated egomaniac to end it on his own terms. Disappointment is the understatement of the century in terms of this debacle.
Barnes
2006 Super Bowl - After the excitement of the Hester return, everything looked great. The Bears looked unstoppable in the first quarter. I had to tell my buddy who was drinking profusely to slow down because he wasn't going to remember "history." I have never been that excited in my life. Then the rest of the game happened. The D looked terrible and Rex Grossman played like crap. I have never felt such a let down in my life.
The 1994 MLB Strike - This is simple. Jerry Reinsdorf cost the Sox a playoff spot and maybe even a World Series Championship. The Sox were awesome and their owner was too greedy to get a deal done. Nothing was worse for a Sox fan than seeing your “leader” be the cause for a chance at a WS ring.
Phillips
The deterioration of DePaul men's basketball - DePaul basketball was a once proud and honored Chicago tradition that sold out arenas, won over fans nationally thanks to WGN telecasts and had tremendous success thanks to Hall-of-Famer Ray Meyer. In the 84-85 season Coach Ray gave the head coaching job to his son Joey. Joey continued some minor success thanks to tremendous reputation until the program started to collapse in the early 1990's. Since then DePaul has acheived minimal success even though their tradition and legacy extends back to the 1920's, all the while many fans and younger fans overlook the tremendous past in favor of other programs.
The Year 1994 - This has to be number one. Professional sports have made me cry three times in my life and two of those times occurred during 1994. First Jordan's retirement came on October 6th, 1993. The effect it had on people all over Chicago was devestating. The Bulls were still 55-27, but having season tickets without your hero, as I did, became a chilling reality and one that I never wanted to face again. The second thing that made me cry was the baseball strike. Baseball was my favorite thing in the world in 1994. I was obsessed enough by the 1993 Division champion White Sox, but the 1994 team had a tremendous chance to advance to the World Series and possibly win it. It wasn't only the White Sox that was so bad, I loved baseball. I woke up at 6 AM before school every morning to watch the complete hour of Sportscenter and I remember the day the season was cancelled I cried my eyes out while watching the montage of Joe Carter, Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Thomas and Matt Williams. My Mom had to call my school and say I was sick because I was so upset.
Couple that with the Chicago Stadium closing, the Hue Hollins b.s. call in the NBA playoffs, and mediocre Blackhawks and Cubs teams and this was one awful year.
Ricky
Bears Super Bowl loss- When a team gets to a title game, you believe it can do anything. Such was the case with the Bears in 2006. If they could pull off that miracle comeback in Arizona, they could do anything. That was the worst thing about losing the Super Bowl. Everything before that made the season feel magical, like the team could do no wrong. Then you mix in Peyton Manning, Rex Grossman and a little rain, and it's all gone.
Chicago Bulls post-MJ - For people who grew up on MJ, we always took the Bulls for granted. They were going to win the NBA championship every year, because that was all we knew. So when the Bulls broke up, and transformed from, literally, the best team ever to the worst team ever, it just made it that much tougher to stomach. In the span of one year, the Bulls best player went from Michael Jordon to Brent Barry. No wonder it was such a struggle to ever win 20 games.
Dubs
2003 Chicago Cubs - For me baseball is, well, life. I played it, I coach it, I teach it, I follow it, I would drink it if it came in an alcoholic carbonated form. So when your team, the team you have followed since your first game at the age of sixth months, decides to blow a 3-2 series lead, while their one and two completely shit themselves, it is quite the devastating moment in your life. To answer your question, yes, I cried. It really hurt me. I had invested everything into that team. I could see the World Series. It was so close. And then...
2008 Chicago Cubs - The only way I can describe the 2008 Cubs is like an abusive alcoholic dad. He beats you for years, but decides to sober up one day. The beatings stop and things seem to be good and happy, but in the back of your mind you still remember what he can become and fear him a little. Then one day, when things are at their best, the inevitable happens – he drinks again. He whoops you, your mom and your brother. You are back in hell, but this time it hurts a little more, because you were beginning to believe things were changing. This was the 2008 Chicago Cubs.
From day one the 2008 Cubs were supposed to win the World Series. That was it. There was nothing that could stop them. Nothing. They signed Kosuke Fukudome. They signed Reed Johnson and Jim Edmonds. They traded for Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin. Life was good.
Then weird things happened. Fukudome started to suck. Edmonds started to look old. Harden was less dominant. Gaudin hurt his back partying near a dumpster(?) The Cubs were still good, but they showed weaknesses. We all ignored them.
“They are just coasting for a while. Taking a break. They will be fine,” we told ourselves.
We were wrong, dead wrong. They were flat and lost. They were supposed to win and they ripped our hearts out. It will never be the same.
What are your biggest Chicago sports disappointments (from any era)?
Monday, October 6, 2008
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17 comments:
My biggest Chicago sports disappointments?
Granted, this is tempered by the fact that I grew up downstate, and only moved up to Chicago in 1994.
1. The growing animosity between White Sox and Cubs fans. For years, there was a dislike, but it wasn't hatred. But over the past couple of years, it's become full-blown hatred. And it goes both ways.
I'm disappointed in the fans, I'm disappointed in the sports writers fueling it, I'm disappointed in MLB fueling it through the insipid crosstown series, and I'm incredibly disappointed in White Sox management fueling it, especially evident anytime Ozzie &%#@* Guillen is asked about the Cubs.
But, I'm running with it. I didn't used to care about the Sox, and now I hate 'em.
2. The stadium redesigns. The Cell, not only was the redesign so poorly done that it has had to undergo multiple remodeling since, but it's incredibly bland. I think that I'm still bitter (and this is from a Cubs fan, surprisingly) that they didn't do anything for the neighborhood. I haven't been to that stadium for a couple years, so it might be better, but there's no motivation for me to go. And I like baseball. Milwaukee, St Louis, Washington, Baltimore, San Diego... I could on and on and list a dozen stadiums more appealing than the Cell.
And then there's Soldier Field. Okay, I'll admit I haven't gone inside, and I do hear good things about it, but I would have just preferred that they rebuild from scratch. I still think the thing looks like someone placed a big bowl into the old stadium.
Good blog... well written...
You can now add the Chicago Cubs 2008 season to your list... after a successful season, the Cubbies tank the NLDS in 3 games to LA. So much for winning the World Series every 100 years.
The only problem with your blog post as I see it, is this... you're a White Sox fan. It's too bad because you seemed intelligent when I was reading about the falling of the Bulls. Move to the north side and re-root yourself.
John, they have done quite a bit of work on the New Comiskey since US Cellular bought naming rights in '03(?). While many will never forget the horrific look of original Comiskey II, the $56 million from US Cellular looks like it has mainly gone to the stadium's appearance. I would still put many of the newer ballparks in front of the Cell as for appeal, but by no means can anybody go in there and say that place is a dump like they used to.
Totally agree about Solider Field, but really, you need to see it from the inside. It's the coolest looking, event-hosting place in the city.
Actually, I am a Cubs fan. The last section following "Dubs" is mine.
There are five separate sections with two “disappointments” by five of the writers here on TTCS. And, well, I did write about the 2008 Cubs, quite tragically (borderline offensive) actually. But thanks for commenting.
Matt I,
This list came pretty much from everybody on the site, and to be honest, Zach is the only Cub's fan who writes on TTCS.
Phil -
Regarding the Cell... Sure, it may be better now, in 2008, but the disappointing factor is that they shouldn't have needed to do any redesigns immediately after it was built. They skimped and it showed.
I'm sure most White Sox fans agree - the Cellular money coulda been used better elsewhere.
Wait...
I changed my mind...
The most disappointing sports moments were
1. 2003 Cubs (Baker is an idiot)
2. U of I in the NCAA championship game. Not only did they end up losing, but they lost to North Caro-ick-lina.
(And if anyone wants to argue about this being Chicago, and U of I ain't Chicago, can bite me.)
I really enjoyed both posts so far this week, because I like the angles that were taken on each. Anyway, for me it's got to be the Bears loss in the Super Bowl, Cubs in 2003,2004,2008, and the fall of Mark Prior. Also, who put DePaul basketball on this list? What was that about?
That would be Scott. He really likes DePaul basketball.
yeah, and what about DePaul basketball Steve?
They used to pack the Rosemont Horizon and were one of the top college basketball programs in the country and now they barely compete in the big east. It's a tragedy.
While all those losses that were mentioned by other writers are obvious, I tried to take a different approach of an entire program that is now in shambles. At least the other teams mentioned have a chance at returning to glory. Don't know if I can say the same for DePaul.
John, You are absolutely correct, money should not have needed to be put into a stadium 11 years-old (in 2003). I am going to try to play devil's advocate and say that since this was the first "new age" ballpark, they didn't know exactly what to base themselves off of. Though the fact that they didn't have the stadium facing the city is inexusable, though it does really bring out the sparkle of the Robert Taylor homes.
I always loved that sparkle in mid-January. The snow really made the blood stains pop.
1. North Carolina 75, Illinois 70
Since that night, I've hated Sean May, Raymond Felton, and Rashad McCants, especially May. Illinois played one of their worst games of the year, certainly in the first half, and Carolina played very well, yet it was still tied with two minutes left. On the other hand, Illinois should have lost in the elite eight to Arizona, so whatever.
While all those losses that were mentioned by other writers are obvious.
You really got to throw us under the bus like that? It is not our fault DePaul softball is more relevant than DePaul basketball.
those losses are all obvious... how is that throwing someone under the bus? I just wanted something different then insert big loss that everyone remembers here
Oh i agree. I like your post a lot.
I guess, the question was what were your biggest chicago sports disappointments? Not the most unique. I don't know if obvious is the right word. It's how we feel about them. I don't think anyone's most painful memory is obvious to anyone but that person.
That's all.
that's the thing Dubs, by having losses like the Bears losing the Super Bowl, the Cubs, the White Sox, the Bulls dynasty or U of I or what have you, you have a large scope of fans and media types that talk about it and aid you through the process of recovering from it.
With a slow death of DePaul basketball there are only a certain few people left hanging on that care enough to really feel awful about the program like I do. DePaul basketball has meant as much to me as any Chicago professional sports team and not many other people would understand why and I've accepted that and that's fine.
It is devestating because it is unique and nobody else gets it except for a special few.
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