How did you become a Cubs fan?

[HOLYCOW!25]

Now, I guess I'll say that I've always been a Cubs fan, but I wasn't a real fan until last year. Before that it was more of just whenever people asked me who I liked better, I said Cubs. And I only paid attention when they were doing good, so not much. But then last year one day, I was home sick, and I was flipping through the channels, and they were showing a game from the World Baseball Classic. And I had been hearing about it for awhile, and since I really like international competition, I figured I would watch, and I really got into it. But when the WBC wasn't on, I wanted more baseball, so I would watch some of the Cubs Spring Training games they showed on TV, and I started goin on their website to see how everything was going. Then came their first game of the season, and I was just blown away. I went online, got some tickets for a day I knew I had off, bought my first Cubs jersey, and I've been a fanatic ever since.

So unfortunatly, I'm not as experienced and seasoned Cubs fans as most of you guys are, but hey, it doesn't matter how long you've loved the Cubs, it's how much you do.

[Waveland007]

My story is funky and it shows you that sometimes you are just born a fan of a certain team. My whole family is from St. Louis except me I was born and raised in Las Vegas with my mom. Everybody in my family is Cardinal fans and my Grandpa worked security at the Old Sportsmans Park a long time ago for the Cardinal baseball and back then football team so you would think I would be a Cardinal fan, but since I was 3 I have been a Cub fan I use to watch them on WGN when I was a baby and never stoped watching or loving them. My family hates that I am and gives me crap, but I know I'm the smart one lol. When I visit them I make sure to come off the plane wearing all Cub gear lol. I remember in 2003 I went to a game at Busch and a game at Wrigley I wore a Cardinals suck t-shirt lmao it was priceless. So I would have to say I was born with cubby blue flowing through the veins. :cool:

[scuba]

I was pretty much born a Cubs fan. I haven't rooted for any other team (except I kind of like the Red Sox in the AL) and have always liked the Chicago teams (except the White Sox of course). I've been through all the tough times as a Cubs fan, loved the Bulls even before they started winning championships, and have always been behind my Bears. If there is one thing that annoys me, it is fair-weather fans and people who jump on the bandwagon just because a team is doing good. Stick to your roots and I believe you will get much more out of being a fan.

And wave, how were things this year with the Cards winning it all? I would imagine your family gave you some crap about that! :rolleyes:

[ARamfan]

My story is a bit funky too. I was born and raised in Phoenix and was NEVER a baseball fan, much less one of the Chicago Cubs. It all changed during the 2003 season. A lot of my friends are transplants from Chicago and have been talking to me about the Cubs for YEARS. I finally actually started watching games during the '03 season and really got into it when they made the playoffs. I would go to sports bars with friends to watch and I couldn't believe how important it was to their fans that they win! I actually saw people cry when the fan grabbed the ball that was meant for Alou!

Being a journalist, I had to look into the situation deeper. I asked as many of the people there, why they were so disappointed, angry, hurt, frustrated, etc. They were all ages, male and female and they all had such interesting stories about what the Cubs meant to them and what it means to be a fan. It seemed to be a "way of life" for most of them.

It made me realize that there must really be something to this, people don't get this worked up over just nothing. When the season ended, I noticed a strange feeling that something was missing from my daily routine. I realized it was the excitement of the Cubs games!! I also realized that I really missed the camaraderie I had enjoyed with the other fans, watching the players and learning about the game, the excitement of home runs and the player who seemed to have become my favorite, ARam!!

I heard about their website and started clicking onto it daily to check up and see what was going on. By the time opening day came around, I had the game schedule posted in my office and front row tickets for the upcoming Phoenix games against the D-Backs. (By the way, my whole family is made up of D-Backs fans and it really irks them that I love the Cubs so much. I also take the opportunity to wear Cubs gear to most of the family functions)!

By the '05 season I had been given a Ramirez jersey the previous Christmas and again had front row tickets to all 3 Phoenix games, as well as the MLB Extra Innings package added to my digital cable, so I wouldn't have to risk missing a game!!

So, that's my story of how a girl who is a native of Phoenix and never liked baseball became a Cubs fan for life!

[Waveland007]

it sucked scuba, but atleast I had the who has the life time record head to head and who won the last 2 seasons head to head insult lol.

[scuba]

At least you had something to come back with, wave! ;)

And ARamfan, good to see another Cub fan on board. Looks like you have an idea now of how it can consume you, for better or worse. :rolleyes:

[Waveland007]

scuba you said you kinda like the Red Sox for AL yeah that's cool being on the West Coast I get the Angels game almost everyday so I adopted them as my AL team. I hated them for a couple weeks though when they tried to steal Aramis from us lol.

[ChiCubs1984]

I been a fan since my grandparents took me to Wrigley in 1983. It was a game between the Cubs vs Pirates, and Mel Hall hit a game winning double. So ever since then I been bleeding Cubbie blue.

[diehardnorthsider]

I myself was born a Cub fan. My Great Grandma was born and raised in Chicago and she passed it on to my Grandma, then to my Dad....well you get the picture.

I remember watching the Cubs on WGN with my Dad when I was little. I would wait in anticipation for the 7th so I could sing along with Harry.

I idolized Ryno, The Hawk, and Jodi Davis and I even named my first pet, a cat, Ryne.

Now I can't wait until I can pass it down to my kids!!! Although it may be tough because I live in Minnesota and married a Twins fan.

[dundeecub]

I have no particular reason at all to support the Cubs*, but I have for a couple of years, and it really works for me (if that makes sense: it just feels right). It does bother me a bit that I don't actually know/remember though...

*My leading theory is that it relates to the Chicago Fire (being British, I'm a 'soccer' fan) having a good team a few years ago and beginning to support Chicago teams in general. But this doesn't explain why I don't root for the Sox, so "shrug".

dc

[JC4CubsWin]

When I was a child we lived between Chicago and Milwaukee. My dad worked 3rd shift, he would come home get some rest and we would watch the Cubs on WGN. I remember going to grade school and the kids made fun of me because I was a Cub fan and they all liked the Milwaukee Braves. I told my dad about that and he said "Well they just won the WS when they start to lose that place will empty out and they will move", he was right. In the meantime we loved our Cubs, listened to Jack Brickhouse, Vince Lloyd and Lou Boudreau. Latter on it was Harry...

No matter wherever I have moved too I follow the Cubs. I was fortunate that we could get WGN with our antenna back then because that was before satellite dishes, or even cable. I know that someday I will see em win it all.....

[ChinMusic22]

Not sure if my story's funny or not, I grew up in Long Island. I never rooted for the Yankees or Mets. I always liked the Orioles (more or less because they were a good team at the time, and I wanted to be Jim Palmer). My dad's a huge Mets fan, so he used to bring me to Shea all the time and for some reason they were always playing the Cubs, so to piss him off it that's who I rooted for adnd somehow it stuck.

As it wound up years later, I'm marrying a Cubs fan and moving to Chicago... The wedding is in a week and a half and the move is in 8 months. Can't wait!

[scuba]

When I was a child we lived between Chicago and Milwaukee. My dad worked 3rd shift, he would come home get some rest and we would watch the Cubs on WGN. I remember going to grade school and the kids made fun of me because I was a Cub fan and they all liked the Milwaukee Braves. I told my dad about that and he said "Well they just won the WS when they start to lose that place will empty out and they will move", he was right. In the meantime we loved our Cubs, listened to Jack Brickhouse, Vince Lloyd and Lou Boudreau. Latter on it was Harry...

No matter wherever I have moved too I follow the Cubs. I was fortunate that we could get WGN with our antenna back then because that was before satellite dishes, or even cable. I know that someday I will see em win it all.....

Good story...smart dad! ;)

[Webgem]

I was 8 years old in 1978 and my dad and granddad took me to my first game. I've been a diehard fan ever since..:)

[Brutus T Manstrength]

In my house.. we were a little poor.. so we'd have cable in the summer to watch the cubs.. and just as the cubs would be ending the season.. we'd lose our cable for the winter.. And it's always kind of stuck..

[bringbacktuffy]

For me it's simple. Harry Caray. When i was a kid growing up in iowa , 6 or 7 yrs old or so, i would come home from school wanting to watch gijoe and transformers on wgn but the cubs would be on instead. At first i was mad b/c well, its gijoe and the transformers! But Harry got me hooked, i saw wrigley and how much fun everyone was having and I knew right away that i wanted to be a part of it. And now here i am and i love it, no matter how much crap ive taken over the years for being a cubbies fan i never wavered.

[HOLYCOW!25]

I actually just asked my dad a bit ago how he became a Cub's fan. I had to ask, because the rest of his side of the family are White Sox fans. Anyways, he said that when he was younger he would always go to his grandma's house and they always had WGN on and he'd sit and watch the Cubs play and see Ron Santo at 3rd, and he became hooked. I still haven't figured out how my mom became one, because she's from an all White Sox family too.

[DLee25]

Your mom just wants to be on your good side :)

[VanMan]

I officially became a Cubs fan full-time when my folks had cable installed in our home around 1982 or '83. I've been hooked ever since. Now, my dad buys me a yearly subscription to Vineline every year for my birthday.

[Yaow]

I grew up in Padre territory in Southern California and everyone in my family is diehard season ticket holding Padre fans so Im the exception.

I was grounded in elementary school like 11 years ago and I would get bored and watch the 95 Cubs I think *Kevin Foster, Leo Gomez, Luis Gonzalez, Scott Servais to name a few* on WGN all the time.

After that Ive been following the Cubs pretty hard since then. More bad times than good so far, but Im hoping that will change.

[cubfan1977]

I started watching the cubs in 1984 my parents took me and my brother to several games that year and i've been rooting for them ever since then and will never stop.

[ryno4ever]

As a young girl, I used to get so frustrated because my parents always had to watch the Cubs. I couldn't watch my cartoons because the Cubs were on. When we went to Grandma's we had to watch the Cubs. It got to where I just had to accept it and either resent it or like it. So, in 1984, my parents took me and my brother to my first Cubs game. I was 11 years old. To this day, I remember walking up the steps from the concourse and seeing the green. The ivy. The grass. The smell of the fresh summer baseball air. I got chills. I was officially hooked. That game will forever shine in my heart. Keith Moreland hit a grand slam... the roar of the crowd made the hair on my neck stand up. To this day, I still feel that overwhelming excitement when I go to the ballpark. I have passed the feeling down to my son, who had to give up his cartoons for those few hours every day during the spring and summer. However, I didn't force him to just watch it, I explained it all as it went along. I helped him to understand the game, the history, and what it means to be a Cubs fan. There is nothing more special than the days I take my son to Wrigley where we can both share our passion for the game.

[HOLYCOW!25]

If I had a kid, my one goal in life would be to raise them a Cub's fan, and if they turn on me, I'll disown them.

[Ivy Killa]

Cubs....this could take awhile, you know how the media claims or claimed the Sosa/Big Mac homerun chase brought the fans back...in my case they were right, i used to watch baseball all the time as a kid with my gramps, we'd go to minor league games (Midland Angels at the time). As the years passed by i grew up and out of baseball, then in 98 the homerun chase renewed my interest....I was pulling for Big Mac at the time, go figure. The next spring i found myself watching baseball again and it started out with the Cards(briefly) but for some reason i started watching the Cubs instead, maybe cause of the coverage. I'm not really sure, the Cubs were horrible in 99 but i watched anyway...Mark Grace quickly became my fave player (and still is)Sosa was at the time "a gladiator" but the Cubs sucked and i still watched, and it continued that way, by 2004 i couldnt take only seeing 80 something games on WGN so i ordered the MLB package and i've gotten it every year since then. I love everything about the CUbs. From the Wrigley Field, to the Ivy, Chip & Steve calling games(best announcers out there, please bring them back), the tradition, the fans, the players. The Cubs sucked but i kept watching...in 2001 i was teased with a decent season but in 02 they sucked again....then we hired Dusty after the Giants lost to the Angels and had a year that i had been waiting to see. It was beautiful, i still have all those postseason games from 03 on vhs. 5 outs from going to the world series...when that bartman **** happened and after game 7...i had never been that heartbroken (the only other time that could compare would be when my gramps passed away. It pisses me off when people question my loyalty to the Cubs...since 04 i've seen practically every game and during the season i scour the deepest darkest corners of the internet keeping up with cubs news that i already know about from watching the mlb package and in the offseason i delve even deeper looking for news....i'm an addict to everything Cubs and will remain that way till i die...As long as Jim Hendry keeps up the good work maybe 2007 will be the year they win, but regardless win or lose the Cubs are my team.

[Doba]

I grew up in Wisconsin and was a Cubbie fan at birth. My grandfather would babysit me and he always had the game on WGN. Went to my first game at Wrigley in '89 against the Expos. Ryno hit a 2 run shot and it was the only runs of the game. Even got to see Mitch Williams pitch that day.

My first little league team was The Cubs and I proudly sported #8 and played right field.

[bringbacktuffy]

Does anyone remember those old ads on WGN with Andre Dawson talking about when he hits one over the fence, he hits it over a such and such company chainlink fence? I loved that ad.

[SammySosafan21]

well... Sammy Sosa.... I don't know what it was? His energy, His Charisma,His Hop,His Smile,His Homers (obviously),everything.. sadly things ended so badly on 2004..... Also my dad was fan fan before me so I was born one you could say...

[CubsFan23]

I grew up in Wyoming so I never had a local team to root for. I started off a Royals fan at age 6 because I loved George Brett. When we moved across town, I befriended a kid that was from Chicago. We started watching Cubs games together. I loved watching Sandberg, and Dunston (what a arm), the Hawk, Gracie, and all off em. Of course this was in the 84. Since then I live breath and bleed Cubbie Blue. I am now raising my 2 young daughters to be Cubbie fans. It is great to hear a 4 year old shout "Go Cubbies"!

[BigZ38]

I used to go to my grandparents house on the weekends to spend the night. My grandpa would always be watching a Cubs game no matter what. He didn't really have a choice because he had muscular dystrophy and was confined to his chair all day. I would watch with him in anticipation of a Cubs win. When something went wrong he would curse every word you could think of. I guess that's where I got that from. I asked my parents to get the Cubs channels so I could watch them then my intrest in them took off from there. I watch them because I love the Cubs and it reminds me of my grandpa. I just wish I could have gone to Wrigley field with him once.

[CubsFan23]

If I had a kid, my one goal in life would be to raise them a Cub's fan, and if they turn on me, I'll disown them.

My kids already know that, and they are only 8 and 4!

[CrazyCubFan]

My whole family has always been Cubs fans except for my mom wh odoesn't like sports at all much. My dad took her to a cubs game when they were dating and someone spilled beer on her in the bleachers so she says she'll never go back.. LOL!!

[NightPutting87]

I suppose the reason behind my being a Cubs fan involves a compilation of vague childhood memories and sentimentality. I was born in Chicago but grew up in the suburbs (first Woodstock, then Naperville). Growing up, my brothers, my dad and I would go to White Sox and Cubs games. As a kid, I was never particularly enamored with ("new") Comiskey Park, the fans were crass, the ballpark was forgettable, the fireworks unnecessary, etc. Conversely, I loved going to Wrigley Field. We always seemed to have better weather on the northside (there's still nothing that compares to a beautiful sunny day at Wrigley), the field was obviously breathtaking, and I seemed to always have way more fun at Cubs games. I suppose what solidified my Cubs allegiance was when I was around 5 or 6 (around '92 or '93). I had the opportunity to play T-Ball with my team in left field at Wrigley (I think just before BP). I'll never forget stepping onto that field, seeing the ivy up close, and feeling the grass. It was unbelievable. The game itself is a bit of a blur, but I remember that Mark Grace (my favorite player) hit a homerun that same game, which was definitely a thrill.

From then on, it was pretty obvious who I rooted for. We didn't have cable when I was young but there was always WGN and the Cubs on every summer. It only got tougher to be a fan, from 2003 in high school to '05 and '06 down here at UI, but I know we will soon have our day. As a family we are still somewhat divided (I'm the only one of 3 brothers who is a Cubs fan), but I look forward to starting a Cubs tradition with my future family.

[ryno4ever]

Thanks for sharing! Welcome to fogpog!

[scuba]

Thanks for sharing! Welcome to fogpog!

I second that. Nice post. :D

[CubsFan23]

One day my girls will be on here saying they became Cub fans at birth because if they didn't Daddy would disown them.

[ryno4ever]

bump time.... lots of new members since this last posted....

[cubbie_kern]

my family is all Cubs fans, but i owe a lot of it to Harry Caray. I loved listening to him call the games.

[SKIPPER 11]

Cable TV invention in 1983- most of my friends went with the Braves- I as usual had to be different and chose Davis, Durham, Sandberg, Bowa, Cey, Moreland, Derneir, Sarge, Thad Bosley, Sutt, Eck, Sanderson, Rainbow Troutt, Sundberg, Harry and Dwayne Stats

[ryno4ever]

Cable TV invention in 1983- most of my friends went with the Braves- I as usual had to be different and chose Davis, Durham, Sandberg, Bowa, Cey, Moreland, Derneir, Sarge, Thad Bosley, Sutt, Eck, Sanderson, Rainbow Troutt, Sundberg, Harry and Dwayne Stats


ahhhhh.....those names bring back such wonderful memories!!!!! JO-DEE! JO-DEE! Leon "the Bull" Durham.... Big Red..... the Penguin....

[SKIPPER 11]

Jody Davis- King of Wrigley Field

Leon Durham- Bull

Sandberg- Rhino or Ryno

Bowa- Captain

Cey- penguin

Moreland - Zonk

Derneir- the Deer

Matthews- Sarge

[Sheffield_&_Waveland]

That is also around the time I started watching them but I was very young and only remember a few of them my memory picks up around 85 and the greatest thing about those days was watching all the games with my Grandfather it brings back some great memories. The other great thing about those days was every game being on WGN and it was like the Sox didn't even exist in Chicago!!!

[SKIPPER 11]

That was my summers - stay up all night - sleep to 1 oclock - wake up either to the lead off man or Dick Van Dyke. Dick Van Dyke came on at 1 oclock when the Cubs were on the road- that always sucked

[SKIPPER 11]

Do yall remember the commercials back then- Sandberg driving the Chevy truck/ Union 76 commercials/ The Hawk hitting them over a TRu Link fence- I never understood that one- because we had the bricks for a fence

[ryno4ever]

I think I recently saw a re-run of some of those commericals somewhere on the net... especially the one of Andre Dawson. I have seen the Harry's "I'm a Cub fan and a Bud Man!" on u tube!

[SKIPPER 11]

Can some one explain the Dawson commercial- He used to say


Everytime I hit one over the fence at Wrigley Field, I hit it over a tru link fence. He was lying.

[VanMan]

Actually, he meant the old retaining fence before the bleachers were overhauled before last season (and re-named the Bud Light Bleachers).

[SKIPPER 11]

Never thought of that

[thisistheday]

This is a great thread... I live in Virginia, but my Mom grew up in a Chicago suburb, and my grandmother grew up in the city. So I am a third generation Cubs fan.
Funny thing is, my grandmother's family lived on the south side. My mom said something recently like, "I wonder why Grandma became a Cubs fan and not a Sox fan?" I could only respond, "By the grace of God."
I shudder to think what could have been.

[CUBScrazy22]

This is a great thread... I live in Virginia, but my Mom grew up in a Chicago suburb, and my grandmother grew up in the city. So I am a third generation Cubs fan.
Funny thing is, my grandmother's family lived on the south side. My mom said something recently like, "I wonder why Grandma became a Cubs fan and not a Sox fan?" I could only respond, "By the grace of God."
I shudder to think what could have been.

That reminds me of my grandpa, but the opposite. He lived right by Wrigley Field when he was growing up and was a sox fan. My mom's a Cubs fan and my dad's a sox fan but luckily I take after my mom! :D But when he saw how much I loved the Cubs, he became a Cubs fan at like 90 lol.

[CUBScrazy22]

I became a Cubs fan the year Sosa and McGuire were in the home run chase. My parents' friends invited them to a Cubs game so I just started watching the games to see what it was like. I played t-ball and softball, but I fell in love with baseball. I broke my wrist too that summer and I couldn't go outside and play so I stayed inside and watched baseball and started asking my parents everything they knew about the Cubs. In 2002, that's when I started getting really into it and started not talking to anyone that wore sox or cardinals stuff. I became a die-hard that year and it became more than a game to me. In 2004 I decorated my room all Cubs, which my parents thought weird for a teenage girl. ;)

[PKloster]

I became a Cub fan when I was born a day before the Cubs' scheduled home opener in 1975. However, the Cubs didn't get to play until April 10 due to the 12 inches of snow that dropped in Chicago eight days earlier. So I guess you could say I arrived into the world just in a nick of time before the Cubs' season started.

[tickbite]

I've just sort of told that story in the Introduction thread. But here goes:

Everything started with that (in)famous movie "Taking Care of Business". It was my first expsoure to baseball in general, and to the Cubs. I went on to play baseball and when I got to choose a number for my jersey, it became 71 only because 17 was already taken. Back then, when I started collecting baseball cards, all I really knew about baseball was the Chicago Cubs and Mark Grace.
Now, I managed to learn the rules (although some people may disagree:rolleyes:) and everything else there is about Baseball. And if there was a way that I became an even bigger Cubs fan, it was after I read "Wrigleyville". After that there was no way back.

[ryno4ever]

welcome to the board, tickbite! what a great story...and I have yet to read that book!

[tickbite]

Do that. I can't believe there's anyone who won't become a Cub fan after reading that. And if you already are a fan: It's like being there at the World Series games in 1908 *live* (And even though we know how it ended, 1969 is a terrific chapter - you keep hoping it'll end better this time ;))

[Leprechaun]

well alot of stories here talking about when they were born they were fans but i wasn't so lucky i was born in 82 but it wasn't till about 89-90 till i started to get into baseball, about the same time t-ball and little leage started for me my grandpa aside from western movies only watched Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bulls games and with my mother working 10-13 hour days and her being single meant i spent alot of summers and afternoons during school at my grandparents. seems like there was always a day game on wgn but i never really became die-hard until the summer after my grand-father passed away. then i went to chicago and wrigley field for the first time a couple years later, just the WHOLE atmosphere really took me in. Walking into the stadium and seeing banners, the ivy, the 7th inning stretch, all the fans around me, and even the ticket scalpers then comparing it to when i used to see it on t.v. as a kid was just breathtaking... the cubs lost that day 7-4 to the cardinals but after experiancing the games with my grandfather as a youngster and comparing it to my first trip to wrigley i knew i was hooked for life and it would be something i would never give up.

GO CUBS GO

[ryno4ever]

There is nothing in the world like walking up the steps to the concourse....where it is somewhat dark, yet full of buzz....walking up the steps, and when you reach the top of the steps and look out into the field, it has to give you a glimpse of heaven! Breathtaking! The green on the field and ivy on the walls...the blue sea in the stands.... the smells of hot dogs, beer, grilled onions. Then seeing the beautiful scoreboard looking down upon everyone...the flags standing tall. Hearing the crack of the bat during batting practice and the roar of the crowd when they catch a glimpse of their favorite player warming up....

What gets me is that just about everything you see at Wrigley has some sort of historical value....whether it be the history of the scoreboard, the W flag, the flags that each represent the different things on top of the building... the Hey Hey foul poles, the retired flags, the many sketches and references posted around the park of Harry...the lights...even the ivy has a story. And to think of all of the greats, both present and past that had once stood on the very field in front of you. If you try really hard, you can easily take yourself back to sitting in those stands, looking down at Babe Ruth standing at the home plate.... pointing out to the bleachers and calling his shot (although, I don't believe there were bleachers there at that time)....Oh, Leprechaun, thanks for bringing it all up! :)