After my first article, it was no surprise that the overwhelming response was \Why do you need to pick on the Packers?"" and ""Why don't you write about how your Bears still suck?""
The reason is simple: They are so bad I couldn't even garner the motivation needed to speak of the franchise that nearly became ""The Bears presented by Bank One.""
With that in mind I turn to something far more exciting, far more thrilling and far more important. I give you not one, but two pennant races in the glorious state to the south of Wisconsin. For all of you New Yorkers out there you know the feeling. You know what it is like to have one of the greatest cities in the world consumed with teams on both sides of town pushing for a World Series ring.
I can't even begin to fathom what it must have been like in the Big Apple when the Subway Series was played there in October of 2000. Pure pandemonium are probably the only words that come to mind to describe the city of Chicago if it is engulfed in a cross-town classic in late October.
It's something that Wisconsin residents cannot truly understand. Maybe that is one of the reasons that baseball seems to take a secure backseat to the Gridiron in this state. All I can say is, it's a shame, because you do not know what you are missing.
Any true sports fan would marvel in the spectacle that is on the verge of unfolding this October in Chicago. If you don't believe me, just go. Pack up your bag and head two hours south to a city that thrives (and survives) on its sports teams.
Philly knows what I am talking about. New York knows what I am talking about. Boston knows what I am talking about. I have never been to L.A., but I am damn sure they know I am talking about.
But despite what many may think, Madison does not know what I speak of. In fact, Milwaukee does not know what I speak of. And certainly Green Bay does not know what I speak of.
To put it in perspective, imagine this:
Imagine Green Bay as a booming metropolis with three million people in the city and three million more in the suburbs. Imagine everywhere you turn for miles and miles (not blocks and blocks as in Green Bay) you see houses draped in Cubbie blue or Sox silver and black. Imagine a baseball stadium more hallowed than Lambeau Field. And imagine two teams, both battling for a spot in the postseason, bitter rivals, with hatred that makes the Green Bay-Minnesota rivalry look like a game of kick ball.
That is what it is like to be in Chicago right now. That is what it will be like for the next month.
""Why, then,"" you ask, ""are you in the cheese state right now, instead of back home soaking up this sports fan's dream come true?""
Funny you should ask. I will be back on the road Thursday night heading back to Chicago to see my beloved White Sox open their final home stand of the season Friday against Kansas City. Truth be told, I wish I was there right now. Nonetheless, look for me in the sixth row behind home plate cheering on the Southsiders of Chi-town, with a family of six million sitting right behind me.
