I’ll start by saying I don’t have a fondness for sports.
This might seem blasphemous with the Cubs’ World Series victory still lingering in everyone’s headlines and hearts. But wait, it gets better.
For the record, I’ve never played “sports” or watched them on TV. I’m a runner, and I’ve been to a few Cubs games in my lifetime (thanks, Grandpa!), but it would take me a minute to tell you which sport contains a touchdown, or how any kind of team scores a goal.
You can ask my friend Michelle.
I called her once, late at night, when I was home alone and heard “gunshots” echoing outside my bedroom window. I sat there on the floor, below the windowsill line, wondering what was happening to my neighborhood.
It’s probably better that I called her first, and not the police.
“Um, those are called fireworks,” she said. “The Hawks just won the Stanley Cup.”
I didn’t even know that it was basketball season!
(I’m joking, maybe).
None of this explains how a few weeks ago, I found a sleep-deprived version of myself glued to the radio every night (I don’t have television), heart pounding, as the announcers narrated every players’ moves. I knew it was getting bad when my brother, who listened to all of the games with me, would point out when “your guy” was up to bat (Zobrist, if you’re curious).
Granted, I still didn’t know much at all about baseball, as my mom and brother can attest. They listened to the World Series games along with me, suffering through questions like “So, when does the good pitcher come back in the game?”
But my small amount of baseball knowledge didn’t prevent me from grumbling at the tenth inning rain delay, holding my breath after the Cubs allowed one more run in the last inning, and opening the front door to cheer loudly when the Cubs officially won.
But then when the rally took place, the question hit me: why is it okay to place so much importance on sports figures? Why was the Cubs parade the seventh largest gathering in human history?
I think this is why:
The Cubs’ win was for generations of families that have been sewn together because their team has never won the series in their lifetimes, and then sewn even closer because their team did. (Look up the article about veteran Cubs fans on NPR and grab a tissue box, if you need convincing!)
The celebration, I’ve decided, was totally worth it.
Because everyone was allowed to share in the victory, no matter what.
Because millions of people were able to gather together in total peace.
Because for a little while, it made total strangers smile at each other on the street.
What could be cooler than that?
