Before You Fly Your 'W' Flag, Please Read Below...

MY STORY

It was Father's Day 2004 and I had no idea what to expect. My wife had always given me thoughtful gifts and I knew that the box on the table certainly did not contain a paisley tie, a bottle of Old Spice or "World's Greatest Dad" coffee mug. Hmmm... perhaps a fresh, new Corey Patterson jersey. He was, after all, supposed to be the Cubs' next great five-tool superstar.

Well, I simply could not have been more surprised or more excited when I opened the box and found a beautiful white flag with a simple blue 'W' stitched in the middle. Now, keep in mind that this was before you could drive down to the corner store and buy an official, major league baseball sanctioned 'Cubs Win' flag. I'm not embarrassed to say that my wife was a trend setter, as she actually had to call a flag manufacturer and have the flag custom made. It may have been the most thoughtful, personal gift I have ever received (which probably does not speak well of my priorities).

Needless to say, I was all smiles. And I'll likely never forget Michael Barrett's two-run ninth inning double against the A's that exact afternoon, allowing me to fly the flag proudly for the very first time and I have not neglected to do so since. And, at least now, the neighbors don't ask me what the heck it means! And the best news is that I have already passed on the tradition to my kids. Please see below for a 'W' flag story that helps illustrate why my daughter is the best!

THE HISTORY

It all started in 1937, when, immediately following bleacher/ scoreboard reconstruction, Cubs' owner Phillip K. Wrigley decided to fly a flag with either a 'W' or an 'L' after every Cubs' home game signifying whether the North Siders had won or lost that day. The primary reason, the flags were flown was so riders on the 'L' trains who were on their way home from work would know the results of that afternoon's game. (For those of you who are not from Chicago and not familiar with Wrigley Field or Chicago's famous mass transit trains, the 'L' runs right next to Wrigley).

Yes, younger readers, there was a time when ESPN and cell phones did not exist!

DID YOU KNOW?

* The 'W' flag was originally blue with a white 'W' and the 'L' flag was originally white with a blue 'L."

* The flags took on their current color scheme in 1990. The flags had become worn and needed to be replaced (especially the 'L' flag, I am guessing) and the Tribune Company decided to reverse the colors. One suspected reason for the change was to "match" the flags with the retired number flags that had been raised in honor of Ernie Banks and Billy Williams, which were, and are, white with a blue numerals.

* The flags are not the only scoreboard indicator of whether the Cubs won or lost on a given day. There are also blue (win) and white (loss) lights on the top of the scoreboard which are illuminated after games to help so people easily see the results of the day's game at night.

* If the Cubs split a home doubleheader, both flags are flown.

THE RULES

Wrigley Field is full of traditions and, in my opinion, the 'W' flag is one of the best. There are specific rules that one should follow when dedicating themselves to flying the flag, however. I suppose some may wonder what gives me the right to hold myself out as the "authority" on 'W' flag flying ettiquette, and I really do not have an answer. I suppose I'll assume such authority given that I am likely the only one crazy enough to take the time to write this while the rest of you spend your spare time trying to figure out whatever became of Gary Scott and Damon Berryhill...

So, you have just bought/ received your first 'W' flag. Without further ado, I present the rules...

1. The 'W' flag is only to be flown after a Cubs victory. I cannot stress this enough.

2. The 'W' flag shall not be flown until the game is final. Keep in mind that this is the Cubs we are talking about and fans should, therefore, never assume a Cubs victory (even with an eight run lead and two outs in the ninth inning).

3. The 'W' flag must be taken down at least ten minutes before the start of the Cubs' next game.

4. The 'W' flag is not to be flown during the game.

5. If you will be away from the location where the 'W' flag is flown when it should be taken down (i.e.: at least ten minutes before the start of the Cubs' next game, for those of you with a short attention span), it should be taken down to avoid violating rules 1-4

6. Bringing a 'W' flag to a game is permissible, but it is not to be displayed until the game is over. Please do not start showing off your flag in the ninth inning in hopes that WGN or Comcast will give you your ten minutes of fame. Once again, this is the Cubs we are talking about.

7. The 'W' flag is only to be flown in honor of a Cubs' win. Sure, the new Blackhawks 'W' logo with the feathers is pretty cool, but the traditional blue and while 'W' flag is for the Cubs and the Cubs alone.

8. If you violate any of the above rules and the Cubs go on to lose that day, you should feel guilty and all your friends should ridicule you.

Now, that is not so bad, is it? Follow the above rules and I am confident that you will enjoy many years of happily flying your 'W' flag. Violate any of the above rules and do not be surprised if you are visited by the 'W' Flag police. You have been warned

And for those of you who are Sox fans...oh sure, you can buy an 'L' flag and celebrate every Cubs' loss, but wouldn't it be more fun to start your own tradition? My suggestion, fly a black flag with the words "I'm Sorry!" printed on it in white. You can fly it everytime Ozzie says something stupid. Can you imagine how much use you will get out of it??

So those are the as they pertain to flying the 'W' flag. Now about that whole World Series drought thing...

(By the way, if you enjoyed this, I encourage you to visit dansrandomsportsthoughts.blogspot.com for more on the Cubs and the rest of the sports world).

Being A Cubs Fan

"I've got season tickets to watch the Angels now.
And that's just what I'm gonna do.
But you, the living, you're stuck with the Cubs.
So, it's me, who feels sorry for you."

- A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request: Steve Goodman

All Cubs fans are extremely familiar with the song "Go Cubs Go," written by noted Cubs fan and 70's folk musician Steve Goodman. Over the last couple of years it has become a veritable Wrigley Field staple and is now played following all home field victories. Far fewer are familiar with Goodman's other "tribute" to the Chicago National League Ballclub, which, in my opinion, is much more appropro. In fact, after the Cubs were swept out of the playoffs in both '07 and '08, ending the Cubs so-called "dream seasons," I could not help but immediately think of Goodman's words.

(By the way, the dying Cubs fan quoted above is not referring to Vladimir Guerrero, Chone Figgins and Doug DeCinces and certainly not to Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. Just want to make sure we are all on the same page here).

What can I say? The end to the Cubs season is always met with disappointment and sadness (especially the last two years when there was so much promise). You know, there are times when I am incredibly jealous of people who, at the end of the day, simply do not care and are able to go about their business without giving what happened to the Cubs on a given day a second thought. People who honestly believe that it is just a game. I, however, cannot. And I keep thinking about the words of my good friend, Tom, who noted on his Facebook page "Tom does not know why he cares so much about something that disappoints again and again and again." Well said.

The bottom line is I don't know either. I don't know why it matters so much. I just know that it does.

I have tried to figure it out. Heck, people a hell of a lot smarter than me have tried to figure it out. The problem is you just can't. You cannot explain why someone like me feels such joy when their favorite team wins and such agony when they lose. You cannot explain why my mood often IS dependent on whether Ryan Theriot perfectly executed a hit-and-run or whether Ted Lilly couldn't locate his curveball. I don't think anyone knows why some of us are wired the way we are.

Oh sure, I've still got my other favorite teams: the Bears, Indiana Hoosiers basketball, Blackhawks and Bulls, but the end of the Cubs season always makes me feel especially empty. The Cubs, after all, are different. It sounds corny, but the Cubs truly do hold a special place in my heart. After all, thanks to my parents (my mother primarily) I think I knew who Ernie Banks was before I knew Bugs Bunny. I grew up thinking that Oscar Meyer hot dogs and Frosty Malts were what they fed you in heaven. I thought Bill Buckner was the best hitter in baseball, Rick Reuschel was a legit Cy Young candidate, and the combination of Steve Ontiveros, Larry Bittner and Manny Trillo could be the magic formula.

I can still remember going to Osco Drugstore with my father every April for that year's first pack of Topps Baseball Cards and I remember hoping and hoping that I would get an Ivan DeJesus. I remember the mustache and I can still picture myself sitting on my bedroom floor, reading every stat on the back of the card...his .278 batting average, his 24 doubles, and his 74 walks (no doubt nursing my bleeding gums... I mean, did they have to make the gum THAT hard?!?). I remember Tim Blackwell, Lenny Randle and Mike Krukow. I remember how I felt when my mother told be that we would NOT be going to Wrigley on a June afternoon thanks to an untimely spate of thunderstorms and I certainly remember that not even Bruce Jenner and the Village People could not make it all better despite their best efforts in the truly horrific movie "Can't Stop the Music" (it turns out that going to Randhurst to see the late 70's "classic" was my mother's inspired backup plan...).

I cried when the ball went through Durham's legs, cursed Will the Thrill and, for one day, believed that Tuffy Rhodes was the next Hammerin' Hank. I heard Harry successfully spell Doug Dascenzo's name backwards and chuckled at the thought of what he would do if Dan Quisenberry ever became the Cubs' closer. I wondered why Marla Collins and her too-sizes-too-small ballgirl shorts disappeared so suddenly (I guess they did not trust an innocent 14-year old boy with the truth...).

I was actually there when Brant Brown dropped the ball and I was in the building when Steve Trachsel pitched seven no-hit innings versus the Giants in game #163. I threw an O'Henry bar and, fortunately, avoided time in Milwaukee County Stadium jail. I questioned Moises' unorthodox way of hardening his hands, considered buying a Mark Prior model #22 MRI machine, and sat in stunned silence as D. Lee put the Marlins ahead in the top of the 8th.

The bottom line is that I live with this stuff every day and I have for the past 35 years (I trust that I was not consciously listening to Jack Brickhouse when I was age two, although with my mother, I cannot say for sure).

We all know that it has been more than 100 years, but sometimes you have to step back and really think about it to realize how amazing (painful?) it is. 1908. One hundred years. You could not take off for a weekend getaway in the Florida Keys in 1908. Heck, at that time, the Wright Brothers were only first considering how one can -- through the magic of service and other charges -- take a $10 airline ticket and turn it into a bill that totals about $350. In 1908, people were not driving Hummers decked out with multiple video game systems ala LeBron James. 1908, in fact, was actually the first year of production for the The Model T. Arizona Diamonbacks and Alburquerque Isotopes? Heck, Arizona and New Mexico were not even states for gosh sakes.

Look, I am not going to insult anyone by saying "Wait Til' Next Year" and I will not even hazard a guess regarding whether the Cubs will actually break through in my lifetime (or even my kids' lifetimes). Nobody ever really knows what a season will hold. After all, you just never know whether Dempster may come down with a case of Prior-itis or Big Z will throw out his back trying to break Mike Fontenot over his knee. Heck, I suppose it is always possible that Jacque Jones could come back and kill us all. One just never knows.

But I do know that after the tears dry a couple of weeks after the season, I put my Cubs cap back on and try and figure out the riddle that is middle relief. And you can bet that I will always be there the following next April, watching every pitch and hoping against hope that 101 years is long enough. And although I appreciate the Dying Cubs Fan's sympathy and, at the end of the season, may be both sad and disappointed, I remain forever proud to be a Cubs fan. It is, after all, who I am. And who I will always be.

Why My Daughter is the Greatest: A 'W' Flag Story

* I must say my daughter always knows how to make me smile and on the day following the official end to the 2008 season, she was able to make me do just that. Realizing that I was disappointed at having to put the 'W' flag away for the season, she looked at me and said in her sweetest voice..."Don't worry daddy. Next year we are going to fly the 'W' flag all the way to the World Series." Keep in mind this is the same child who once wrote a letter to for a school project to Aramis Ramirez. It is during such times that I do not know whether to tell her how proud I am that she is following in my footsteps and on her way to bleeding Cubbie blue... or simply shake my head and tell her I'm sorry.