One thing’s for sure, no matter who wins the presidential election there is going to be a hangover the likes of which we have not ever seen before.
This will be huge. The entire country has been at a fevered political pitch for well over a year. Everyone has their opinion except for the ones that don’t. The undecided will make theirs a game time decision. And there isn’t anything wrong with that.
My hope for the country after the election has been called is that we don’t soon thereafter enter into malaise (as we do after most elections). My hope is also that the passion everyone has displayed leading up to the election continues in the form of the losing candidate’s supporters coming together with the winner’s in a joint effort to move the country forward again.
Speaking of joints, cannabis is in the limelight this election cycle, but that is not the kind of joint effort I was referring to.
Seriously, we have to work together again if we truly want to move forward. And we need unifying considerations to help us get there. Momentum may be slowed once the race is over and we have a new leader. This is normal. The best change takes time, however, and the new president, no matter their positions during the election, will have to do what’s right for the country as a whole, working “across the aisle,” and compromising in the name of what’s best for everyone—especially those who would benefit the most from the chance to be productive once again.
Tonight the Cubs face the Indians in Cleveland to see who will be crowned baseball’s World Champions. The majority of folks very much empathize with the longer record of futility that the Cubs have. In this regard, the Cubs are somewhat of a unifying factor when it comes to either Trump or Clinton fans.
My problem is with how much of a roll the Cubs are on. Sort of like Hillary up until this last week where things have changed for her. She no longer is the candidate with momentum. In this election season, recent turn of events demonstrate just how quickly things can change politically-speaking.
Kluber comes hither
The Cubs look like a steamroller in progress the way they dismantled the Indians last game. I want to like the Cubs and their history of futility. I really do. Maybe the reason I’m outwardly rooting for the Indians is that the Cubs will no longer be the loveable losers that generations of baseball fans have come to enjoy.
On paper, the Indians are much the lesser team. They are the underdogs and will start the same pitcher, Corey Kluber, in this game seven, that started and won games 1 and 4. The last time a pitcher won games 1, 4 and 7 in the series was Bob Gibson in 1967 for the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Indians haven’t won it all since 1948. Their fans haven’t suffered as long as Cubs fans have.
The Cubs are built for the future as well as today. I would like the Indians to somehow manage the victory. I think Cubs fans can echo one more, “Wait until next year” statements on the season. Would it be heartbreaking not to win tonight? Somewhat.
What would be even more heartbreaking is the hangover Cubs fans will have should they win. They will not be the same team to root for that they once were. Their not losing will be a charm that is forever lost once they become World Series Champions.
As painful as this sounds, a loss by the Cubs tonight will be one of the unifying considerations the country needs right now. The Cubs will be good for years to come, and should they lose tonight, will be fun to root for again next season. For the Indians, I would suggest it’s now or never.
The Indians are also at home as are we, the television viewing audience. Neither team is a metaphor for either presidential candidate. But if the Indians do not win, what happens next week with respect to the presidential election, will do nothing to change either the way we view the Chicago Cubs, or how (and if?) we root for them, ever again.