Now, release your anger. Only your hatred can destroy me!
With the Yankees pulling even and my Cubs tied 1-1 going into tonight, baseball continues to be having a barn-burner of a post-season. What could any fan want more? Well, the answer, or at least what Fox wants, is a Red Sox-Cubs World Series. It would be a ratings bonanza -- Fox would likely schedule Games 2 and 3 simultaneously in opposing ballparks for the event of the century, but I digress. Even without the sinister network overlords interfering, I suppose most fans would tune in to see that at least one "curse" be over. Being sympathetic to the Red Sox, and not a fan of the Yanks, I am somewhat rooting for them against the Yankees. I say somewhat because, though I would prefer the Sox to beat the pinstripes, I would rather the Cubs play the Yankees in the World Series.

The explanation for my view is two-fold. Firstly, when you are rooting for your hero, your team, you want them to face a worthy opponent. You want them to face, if not your nemesis, at least what comes close to the ultimate evil. The Cubs facing the Red Sox would be a benevolent, hey-it's-great-to-be-here series, with one time vanquishing the ghosts and another continuing it's sad saga. Well, I don't want it to be a feel-good series. I want some bad blood, some animosity, some good-'ol hatred. And the 'evil empire' fits the bill. To attain peaks, you must risk valleys, and that's why you have to play the most dreaded team out there.

In Star Wars speak (natch), I want to see Luke v. Vader from Empire rather than Luke v. Vader from Return -- in other words see good v. evil before you, or Luke for that matter, started feeling sympathy for his opponent, feeling the 'good' inside him. Well, I don't want to feel the 'good' in my opponent -- I want to feel my own tense, stomach-knotted vitriolic angst with it's abysmal lows and euphoric crests, just like during the Cubs-Braves series. Who would you choose to be -- the suckiest team in history, or the biggest chokers in history? 12 division titles and only one championship, which brings up my second point, against the Indians. Sure, Atlanta finally won a World Series, but they had to play the Indians, one of the worst franchises in history to do it. The rest they choked on. Now, if the Cubs and Red Sox play in the world Series, sure someone will win, but then that winning team will have the stigma of only being able to beat the other worst team ever. Oppositely, the losing team will gain the trophy of worst team ever, which would be something of a notorious distinction (kinda cool!).

Of course, if the Cubs lose before the ALCS is concluded, go Sox. Otherwise, give me the Empire. P.S. -- No one gives a rats-ass about the Marlins.