Cubsessions: Famous Fans of Chicago’s North Side Baseball Team & Their Stories of Pain, Loyalty, Hope and (Finally) Joy
Cubsessions: Famous Fans of Chicago’s North Side Baseball Team & Their Stories of Pain, Loyalty, Hope and (Finally) Joy
Author: Becky Sarwate and Randy Richardson
Publisher: Eckhartz Press
Paperback: $20.00. 100 percent of proceeds will go to charities.
It is perhaps the biggest sports story in American history: The Chicago Cubs. After 108 years without a championship and decades as our pop culture symbol of futility, the Cubs won the World Series in 2016. From the many years of frustration to the joy of finally winning it all, there are many remarkable stories of Cubs fandom.
Becky Sarwate and Randy Richardson, contributors to the Wrigleyville Nation website, captured many of these stories in their new book, Cubsessions: Famous Fans of Chicago’s North Side Baseball Team & Their Stories of Pain, Loyalty, Hope and (Finally) Joy. It’s a fun and easy read, with 31 short stories (about a couple pages long each) based on interviews the authors had with famous Cubs fans. Among those featured in the book are Ike Barinholtz, Dennis Franz, Joe Mantegna, Bob Newhart, Nick Offerman, along with other actors, athletes, and local Chicago celebrities.
The stories of Cubs fandom are diverse. Many of these fans describe how they became a Cubs supporter, along with the impact that the difficult endings many of the past seasons had on them. Yet many of the stories also tell of the memories from the 2016 season and how their lives changed because of it. It was clear that to many of these fans, all the long years of suffering through watching bad teams eventually paid off.
Despite the diversity of perspectives on Cub fandom, there is an overriding theme throughout the book: Being a Cubs fan is like being a part of a family. It’s something that brings people together despite their differences. Because of the team’s dubious history, it does this perhaps better than any other sports team does. And the joy of winning the World Series makes that bond even stronger.
This is a book that sports fans should enjoy, but even non-sports fans will gain more of an appreciation of what cheering for their team means to fans and how it can bring people together.
Tags: Book Review, Chicago Cubs
