October 17th: Fly The W

My alarm goes off at 7:30 AM, signaling the end of my second night in a row with fewer than four hours of sleep. The night before, the Cubs and Cardinals clashed in a first-round playoff game. I wasn’t going to miss a single pitch, even from the other side of the globe.

It has been seven seasons since the Cubs last made the playoffs, and that one didn’t have nearly the energy and engagement that this one has. For the first time in recent memory, the Cubs are exciting and actually good. All summer long, fans and sportswriters have been buzzing with the idea that, after years of suffering, Chicago fans are finally going to have something to cheer about during the month of October.

Of course, this comes when I am out of the country for a year. My city is bonding together in support of the team I love, and I am missing it.

I am an incredibly proud Chicagoan. Chicago is my home, the source of my sports fandom, my cultural identity, and so much more. Yet, over the last five years, I’ve spent almost 75% of my time away from my hometown, from sumers at camp to years at school. That is what makes my relationship with the Cubs so much more than just a baseball fan watching some games. I am a resident in exile, longing for home in any way that I can.

So I stay up to watch. At three in the morning, my room feels like the only light in Jerusalem, my silent cheers sprinting their way across the globe to spur on my boys in blue. I live-tweet my way through the games, joining the fan bases as they attempt to get in on the action in any way possible. I haven’t left the house without my Cubs hat on since the playoffs began, and my sports superstitions are reaching a point of borderline lunacy. Thanks to technology, I’ve been able to stay tuned in much better than I could have years ago. I watch the games on my computer live, with only a moment or two of delay. I’m right there for every pitch, watching with all of those fans in America and abroad.

Better yet, I know I’m not the only believer living in the Cubs-Diaspora. Walking down the streets in Jerusalem, I have been high-fived and cheered on several occasions, fans far away from home sharing in the glory of a late autumn “Go Cubs Go!”

I know that, as my life goes on in the direction it’s going, I will spend much of my time away from the city I call home. No matter where I live, though, I’ll alway have my Cubs to celebrate, to struggle with, and to give me that little piece of where I belong. This season, the Cubs have been my tether, and I am going to be glued to the screen for every pitch. Let’s fly the W.

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