As fans streamed toward the exits following the Cubs’ loss Tuesday to the Mets and into a cold, rainy night that matched the ballpark’s mood for much of that night, a familiar refrain echoed among the Wrigley Field faithful.
“See you here Thursday,” they said to each other, over and over, even if they didn’t necessarily believe it.
As the Cubs dug a 3-0 hole following what can at best be described as a lifeless performance from the players on the field and the crowd off it, anybody who was either in the ballpark or watching on TV would be hard-pressed to believe there would be a Game 5 in this year’s National League Championship Series.
Tuesday, more so than any other night of the 2015 season, best captured what it has been like to be a Cubs fan the past century or so, taking us through the seven stages of the experience in one neat little three-hour window. It was a night that, like the series, started with so much potential and ended like so many others before: in disappointment.
Stage 1: Hope
Hope was in abundance as Kyle Hendricks threw the game’s first pitch just after 7 p.m. The Cubs had beaten the Mets seven times, losing none, in the regular season, and a shift in the series’ momentum had to be just a play or two away, right?
Stage 2: Frustration
Hope was quickly dashed by our old friend frustration in the third inning when, with the score tied at 1, archnemesis Daniel Murphy took a Hendricks offering over the center-field wall to give the Mets a lead. “Here we go again,” the ballpark seemed to say all at once.
Stage 3: Elation
Frustration gave way to elation in the bottom of the fourth inning, when Jorge Soler launched a booming home run to tie the game, sending the ballpark into histrionics once again.
Stage 4: Anxiety
Elation gave way to anxiety when a wild pitch by Trevor Cahill on a third strike with two outs scored Yoenis Cespedes in what was eventually the winning run in the top of the sixth inning.
Stage 5: Fear
Anxiety gave way to fear later in the sixth when Wilmer Flores hit a line drive into right field that Soler badly misplayed, but not before some Friendly Confines magic prevented the bad from becoming much worse. Flores’ shot got stuck in the ivy, making it a ground-rule double and keeping Michael Conforto from coming around to score.
Stage 6: Dread
Fear gave way to dread as the innings wore on and the Cubs’ bats couldn’t get anything going against New York’s bullpen.
Stage 7: Acceptance, and then …
Once Jeurys Familia struck out Soler to mercifully end the contest, dread bled into acceptance—acceptance that “this year” is more likely next year, which almost always winds up morphing into hope again.
“Hey, it could happen,” a Cubs fan said as he walked south on Clark Street near Belmont Avenue.
Tuesday’s cycle of emotions is one generations of Cubs fans have lived time and again. He’s right, though. Stranger things have happened to the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
And if not this year, maybe 2016.
Matt Lindner is a RedEye contributor. @mattlindner
Want to upgrade your skills? RedEye can help. Start here.
![Do I need to collect the grass clippings when mowing my lawn to avoid thatch buildup? This practice created a lot of extra work for me last year. Can I skip this step? Nicole Phelps Skokie, Illinois The mowing season is in full swing now and lawns in our area are growing quickly. Don’t worry about thatch buildup. Our Garden experts have found little evidence to suggest that clippings contribute to thatch buildup as long as you are mowing properly. If your lawn already has a thick layer of thatch, returning clippings may cause that layer to get bigger. A […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CTC-L-homegarden-qa-0516-01.jpg?w=524 "Do I need to collect the grass clippings when mowing my lawn to avoid thatch buildup? This practice created a lot of extra work for me last year. Can I skip this step? Nicole Phelps Skokie, Illinois The mowing season is in full swing now and lawns in our area are growing quickly. Don’t worry about thatch buildup. Our Garden experts have found little evidence to suggest that clippings contribute to thatch buildup as long as you are mowing properly. If your lawn already has a thick layer of thatch, returning clippings may cause that layer to get bigger. A […]")
