With Boston flying, Chicago still dying
As Pats, Celtics, Red Sox streak, our teams' outlooks remain bleak
January 24, 2008
BY GREG COUCH Sun-Times Columnist
T
here are times when things all come together, and you just can't believe your luck. And then there are times like this. For Chicago sports fans, this is your biggest nightmare come true.
It's not just that all of Chicago's sports teams stink, but also, at the same time, that New York and Boston are fighting it out to see which one is king of the world.
Lost cause actually more of a Giant step I'm sick of New York and Boston. They always think they are the king of the world, anyway. Now they might be right.
Patriots vs. Giants in the Super Bowl. Bears in last place. Yuck.
I mean, really, look at it: The Red Sox won the World Series again. The Patriots are about to win the Super Bowl with an undefeated team, a dynasty. The Celtics are a strong favorite to win the NBA title. I think Boston College was even in the running for a football title at one point.
What do we have? White Sox: last place. Bears: last place. Bulls: dysfunctional. Notre Dame was a joke. The Blackhawks are considered a rising team, but even they can't stay out of last place. And the Cubs ... well, they did beat the Brewers to make the playoffs last year!
Where they were swept in the first round.
This is historical in so many ways. I've never seen a town on a run like the one Boston has going now, starting with the Patriots winning the Super Bowl after the 2001 season. Meanwhile, this isn't the worst year in Chicago sports history, but it might be the most disappointing.
All of Chicago's major teams were supposed to be contenders. None of them has been.
All the suffering is now here
How's this for a number: 51-6. The Boston Globe runs a number like that every day, updating it all the time. Here's what it said Wednesday:
''Since the Red Sox lost Game 4 of the ALCS on Oct. 16, the Sox, Patriots and Celtics (sorry, Bruins) have combined for an otherworldly 51-6 record.''
That's just sick.
Critics call ESPN the Eastern Seaboard Programming Network because of a perceived bias. And Mike Royko once wrote this: ''Hating the Yankees is American as pizza pie, unwed mothers and cheating on your income tax.''
We used to be kin to Boston, always suffering nearly as much as we did. Red Sox fans would say that their suffering was worse than Chicago's because they kept coming close and failing, whereas the Cubs and Sox were failing from the beginning.
I looked this up once: The worst year in Chicago sports history was 1999, when all five teams were losers. The best year? Well, there really isn't one.
Nothing like what Boston has had regularly this entire decade, anyway.
It's sick, really.
But it's no fluke. Boston's owners are simply better than Chicago's owners.
That's all there is to it. Other major-league owners are upset with the Red Sox for spending so much money on players, driving up salaries. Robert Kraft is a genius with the Patriots. The Celtics went out and got stars such as Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
And Chicago? Well, we still have the suffering thing going, I guess.
People hate the Red Sox, hate the Patriots. It's a jealousy thing, really.
Wouldn't it be nice if Chicago's teams were hated, too?