  CHICAGO STORY Only a team from Chicago could lose this way. The Chicago Cubs led the Florida Marlins in the National League Baseball pennant and were four outs away from the World Series when victory was seemingly snatched out of their hands by a greedy fan who grabbed over the railing for a ball, preventing the third out of the eighth inning. Instead of a ticket bound for the world series, the Florida Marlins came back, ready to fight another game.
And in the next game they full advantage of their opportunity and smote the Cubs. So close... and yet so far. It's much easier to blame the thoughtless fan who grabbed for the ball than to blame the team. He's also a lot easier for retributing frustrations that were palpable from Wrigley Field. Emotions ran high this week. So much was hoped for and the reality didn't live up to so much that might have been. It's a common tale. Funnycide, another underdog, won the first two legs of the Triple Crown, but lost it on the third.
A hundred thousand people at the horserace that day were witness to another self destruction so close to the finish line... and yet so far. It's disappointing when you get so close to something, only to see it fall apart before your eyes, but it happens everyday. Real life is a disappointment to our expectations. Nothing's perfect. And if it was, would we really want it that way?
Fighting battles that we may lose is part of the interest and intrigue of this world. If the end was guaranteed at the start, we could sink back in a mindless apathy knowing that we had really missed nothing at all. But it's the uncertainty that keeps us playing the game, the hope that maybe next year, the Chicago Cubs will go to the World Series. If you want a game that has a decided outcome, watch Professional Wrestling or a Soap Opera. If you want a game where either side could win, go to Chicago, look for the bad news baby bears, and maybe there you'll find a Cub fan who can tell you all about the virtue of persistance and unfailing optimism. Maybe next year, Chicago. 
