Even the players don’t know what’s going on

Team celebrations can be elaborate; they can be silly; they can be intricate. But in the case of the Chicago Cubs, their team celebration is barely noticeable. Per ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, who somehow wrote 800 words about this new celebration: “[T]he Cubs (49-45) are literally waving at each other — first from the dugout to the hitter who reached base, then from the hitter back to the dugout in acknowledgment. The twist is that the base runner can freestyle with any creative gesture he chooses.” No surprise, the celebration has yet to be noticed widely on social media. A search “Cubs wave” elicited just one video on Twitter, and the user who posted it didn’t even seem to be aware that this was some sort of organized team celebration effort. Fans aren’t alone in not noticing this new celebration. Even members of the team are confused. “I don’t even know what we’re doing,” star Kris Bryant told Rogers. “No one is telling me. There’s no memo. All the other years, it was confirmed, like ‘This is what we’re doing,’ but this year, are we waving? Is everyone doing their own thing? It’s like, OK, whatever. You wave at me. I’ll wave back to you.” Bryant appears to be most confused that the base runner doesn’t have to wave but can do any manner of gesticulation, according to the unwritten rules of the ritual. “We should have a team meeting on that,” Bryant said. “Are we waving or what? For singles, are we waving? What about doubles? When I get on first, I’m just happy I got to first. Now I have to worry about waving and thinking about all this stuff.” Hopefully, the Cubs can figure this pressing issue out, as the team tries to get back on track. After winning the World Series last season, the team has struggled to meet fans’ high expectations this season, entering the all-star break with a losing record. Since scooping up left-hander Jose Quintana from the White Sox, though, the Cubs have won six straight. That’s worth a wave.