Words can’t really do justice to what we witnessed tonight in Wrigleyville. I’m not much for cliches, but you truly had to be there to fully appreciate the depression en masse that filled the air like the thickest Los Angeles smog.
If it weren’t for the endless amenities and convenient access to multiple forms of public transportation that will remain long after the fans have come and gone, I’d say to hell with Wrigleyville. I love my neighborhood, but on a night like tonight — when the newfound bite of cool air reminds us all that papa winter is around the corner, it sucked to live here. The Cubs’ offense looked anemic. The Cubs’ defense looked amateurish. And the fans took a Manny-induced vow of silence that I’ll never forget.Seriously … that silence.All year, walking through at least 81 crowds in and around the ballpark, you heard the hum. It was the gears of victory lubricated by oily optimism — pumping, grinding and rattling even in defeat. After a Cubs loss, you’d still find bleats of optimism rising anonymously from the crowd.But not tonight.The Cubs haven’t been eliminated. In fact, they’re three wins in a row away from advancing in the playoffs. Three wins in a row is something that the Cubs have done many many times this season. There’s still a sliver of hope. Though only a sliver, you’d think the fans would cling to it — clutch it in their paws and slam it against their chest, offended by the notion and entirely opposed to the suggestion that it be let go.But … that silence.I didn’t want to watch the post-game interviews. I didn’t want to know what I already knew. That it’s inexplicable. That routine ground balls are meant to be just that — routine. For some reason though. On this night there was nothing routine to be found.There was only …var inlinePlayerParameters = {“f”:”ILCHS”,”mk”:”en-ap”,”containerId”:”inlinePlayerContainer”,”type”:”ByUUIDS”,”prop1″:”66721329-467d-4142-8c5f-c87c728cbd99″,”skin”:”0″,”headlineColor”:”#AB0110″,”borderColor”:”#BBDDEE”,”padding”:”4″,”fg”:”3″,”sort”:”Default”,”sortdir”:”Descending”};
