We are mystically linked in so many ways. The two oldest ballparks. The two weirdest curses (ours thankfully with a stake driven through its heart). The most loyal fan bases. Heck, even Bill Buckner. Deep down, I'm sure many of us in the Nation are also secretly Cubs fans. We know the angst all too well.When the Chicago Cubs take the field at Fenway Park on Friday evening, it will be the first time Cubbie laundry has been on that particular piece of turf since September 11, 1918. Forget the 9/11 angle. Can you believe that the World Series used to end just after Labor Day? Of course there were more pressing issues facing the American people that day. The Boston Evening Globe (yes, newspapers in this town actually had two daily editions as late as 1979) told of torpedoed troopships and the scramble to get young men registered for a military draft that funneled 4.3 million Americans into World War One. But it was the Game 6 clinching victory for the Red Sox that got the big banner headline, "Sox Win Championship". New revelations of possible scandal aside, it was our last shining moment on the hill for 86 years.
When the Cubs arrive in Boston this time around, there will also be bigger issues out there that should preoccupy our minds. But, as our predecessors did 93 years ago, we can forget it all, and let the joy of baseball just wash over us for a few days.