Sox-Cubs Without The Tragedy This Weekend

For years, Red Sox fans and Cubs fans were linked by the futility of their teams. The Red Sox hadn't won a World Series since 1918. Along the way they had some memorable chances at a championship but they could never close the deal. Damn that Curse of the Bambino! The Cubs hadn't won a World Series since 1908 -- and they were the team that lost to the Sox in 1918. Along the way they had some memorable chances at a championship but they could never close the deal. Damn that Billy Goat. As the championship drought hit the 21st Century, the media started to portray Sox fans and Cubs fans as brothers in a quest for the impossible. They paid no attention to the fact that the majority of Red Son Nation was overly obsessed with the World Series and that most Cubs fans were just able to enjoy a beautiful afternoon at Wrigley Field. It was Red Sox-Cubs, Cubs-Red Sox. This phenomenon got worse when both teams made it to their respective League Championship Series in the 2003 Playoffs. And wouldn't you know it, both lost in Game 7. Curses live on. Boston and Chicago continue to be linked as the "Suffering Siblings." In 2004, both teams were expected to make the World Series in an apocolyptic moment for the sports world. They were even involved in a four team trade at the July 31 deadline that sent Sox star Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs and brought back Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz to the Sox. But all the World Series talk was overblown. For the Cubs that is. The Red Sox went on to have one of the most historic playoff runs in baseball history. They swept the Angels, came back from an 0-3 deficit to beat the Yankees in Game 7 (in New York) and then swept away the Cardinals to win the Series. As for the Cubs? They fell apart down the stretch and failed to qualify for the postseason. So much for being in this together. This weekend the Red Sox travel to Chicago to play the Cubs at Wrigley for the first time since the 1918 World Series. It will be a fun match-up of two of baseball's most storied franchises at one of the game's great stadiums. But it will not have the added attraction of two long suffering teams meeting as they twist in the wind for the World Series. That story is out (although I'm sure both ESPN and FOX will remind us more than once of the history of both franchises). And I could not be happier that it is. Good luck in your quest, Cubs fans. You'll need it but I assure you that the celebration will be worth the wait. Just stop leaning on our shoulder to cry -- we've (finally) moved on to a better place.