Indians, Cubs add to angst of fans in Houston
You’re freaking me out, Chicago.
And you’re really starting to bum us out, Cleveland.
The Cubs just one win away from returning to baseball’s grand stage for the first time since 1945?
The Cavaliers receiving their NBA championship rings and the Indians hosting Game 1 of the World Series on the same night in the (former) Mistake By The Lake?
Too much. And too painful.
Oakland, Kansas City, Denver, San Antonio and San Francisco recently won big, shiny things that last forever.
If you were born in the new millennium, you’re convinced that all Boston does is go all the way.
But Houston, the fourth-largest city in the country and host of Super Bowl LI?
The Texans, of course, have never even sniffed the Lombardi Trophy; the post-AFL Oilers always came up short. The Astros have been to the World Series only once and didn’t win a single game in 2005. And with all due respect to the Dynamo and Comets, it’s been 21 long years since this city has claimed a major professional sports championship. (Thanks, Hakeem.)
Which is why when you ask readers to describe what it’s like being a dedicated Houston sports fan, in light of Cleveland’s recent title and the Cubs’ maybe pulling it off, this is the stream of tears you receive.
The word on the street
@ATXMichaelMason “All of the torment of Browns or Cubs fans, without the underdog notoriety. Houston sports.”
@EMoodyHorns “Third wheel. Go on the date. Meet the girl. Get the meal. Have some drinks. Go home alone. Unfulfilled.”
@hluchanek2 “It’s like your mom tricking you. Thinking you’re going to the championship park, when in actuality you’re going to the dentist.”
@JebjrJeb “If you can’t say something nice, talk about the weather.”
Well, it was rather pleasant Friday. Sunny, clear and low humidity, with fall finally starting to arrive.
So how ‘bout them Cubs?!
Oh, yeah. They’re really good now and truly could wave the W that Chicago’s been dreaming of the last 108 years.
Don’t even mention the White Sox in 2005.
@keithgmoney “October 12, 2015.”
That one really hurts. And whoever keithgmoney is, he’s witty.
What’s so special about October 12, 2015, you ask?
A Royal collapse
That’s the six-outs game. Astros, Royals, absolutely roaring Minute Maid Park. Six outs away from suddenly being in the 2015 American League Championship Series. Then 9-6 Kansas City, Royals in five and another crack in Houston’s soul.
I’m not going through all the heartbreaks right now. You know them by heart.
But watching the inspiring Indians erase Toronto and advance to the World Series — in the same year the Cavaliers fought off death and 3-1 Golden State to finally bring a championship to Cleveland — had me thinking about the city we call home this week.
And the word readers kept repeating: Average.
@BigstoryMike “Houston is an almost city.”
@whittlz “Relentless hope. Relentless disappointment. Relentless hope.”
@tiffani722 “.500 is the goal.”
There were also two hilarious fan-sent videos. A dejected old-school Oilers supporter giving the oldfashioned, middle-finger salute from the stands. An even-more-dejected Rockets fan standing on a window ledge, with an anvil tied to his leg. (Obviously, don’t try that one at home, folks.)
@jbh_1970 “We will win when we build three new stadiums!”
I dig the upbeat optimism. But NRG Stadium, Toyota Center and Minute Maid are holding up well — the Astros’ home is my personal favorite — so I’m not sure a wrecking ball will do the trick.
Maybe it’s Tal’s Hill. That center-field abomination is finally coming down to earth.
And out of Houston’s Big Three, the Astros are the city’s best shot to end a two-decade drought.
New Orleans and Miami have partied for a month. Pittsburgh, Green Bay, Philadelphia and Dallas (ugh) have held trophies up to the sky in the last decade. Houston? It’s like a billy goat walked into a bar with headphones on.
If the Cubs or Indians win the World Series this year, maybe our city really is cursed. I jest. Someone in Houston will win something, I promise.
Someday.