Already, pressure is building in Chicagoland, like tectonic plates grinding up against each other \u201d\u201d the weight of 99 years of being the second-banana Second City, this bustling, cultured and sometimes even beautiful city by the lake.<\/p>\n
Terrible signs are pointing toward disillusionment. Fans are wielding signs that say It\u2019s Gonna Happen. And just the other day, a Republican legislator sent a letter to The Chicago Tribune advocating the state\u2019s desired purchase of historic Wrigley Field \u201d\u201d \u201cat the same time as we are planning for a World Series this fall.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
Oh, dear. This is the legislative version of the dippy enthusiasm that in 2003 led a decent and knowledgeable Cubs fan to stick his hands where they didn\u2019t belong \u201d\u201d interfering with a foul fly ball about to nestle into the glove of Moises Alou, after which calamity struck.<\/p>\n
Overcoming 99 years of heartbreak will be much harder than the Angels\u2019 winning the 2002 Series in their 42nd season, after several gruesome collapses, or the Red Sox\u2019 eight straight victories at the end of 2004, eradicating all the silliness about the jinx of the Babe, or the White Sox\u2019 winning in 2005 for their first time since 1917, before the gambling scandal of 1919.<\/p>\n