Chicago Cubs: Are Fans Getting Delusional About Their Fandom?

Steven Chaitman who wrote the article for OY Chicago is their Managing Editor and the Director of Strategic Digital Communications for the Jewish United Fund of Chicago. It’s incredulous that someone in that position could write an article comparing the Cubs to a religion. His “seven reasons Jews make good Cubs fans” are:

"We pass our fandom on from generation to generation. We know a lot about waiting, having faith and believing. We are simultaneously the most pessimistic and optimistic people ever. We have a thing for blue and white flags. There are people who hate us just to hate us. We have a holy space and we want to be there. We are more superstitious and neurotic than most."

Chaitman seems to think that in Judaism and with Cubs fans, these tenets are more prevalent than in other religions or in fan bases. Patrick O’Connell wrote the Tribune article about baseball and religion overlapping. He quoted Sister Ann Terese Reznicek, a nun of the Congregation of St. Joseph and a Cubs fan, who said:

"“Perseverance, loyalty, faithfulness, long-suffering — those are the things that we talk about in our lives, and those are the things that we need when we cheer for the Cubs.”"

All of these examples could be applied to any fan base. Some might have more of the above attributes than others, but that is merely a subjective opinion. John Sexton, who wrote the book  “Baseball as a Road to God: Seeing Beyond the Game” said, “In baseball as in religion, doubt and faith are intertwined.”

Even Sexton has used religion in his rooting interests. O’Donnell relayed:

"When the Dodgers finally broke through on Oct. 4, 1955, Sexton clasped a crucifix in his basement as he listened to the final outs against the Yankees. “For me and millions of others,” Sexton wrote, “a sacred day.”"

Joseph Price, who is a Divinity Professor at the Whittier College in California and wrote about book about baseball and religion, said, “Curses are only effective as long as they are believed.”

Sister Kathy Sherman of the Congregation of St. Joseph convent in La Grange Park, Illinois had one of the most logical views on interconnection of religion and baseball when she told O’Donnell:

"“Being at a ballgame, or even following one on the radio, gives you a sense of mindfulness, and a sense of the present… You think about what’s happening there,” Sherman said, “but you’re also present to the larger moments of life.”"