Remember Bill Veeck bringing a midget (oops, little person) up to plate simply to get a walk?  Or Disco Demolition Night 30 years later, which resuledt in a forfeit and a destroyed infield at Comiskey Park.  Ah, Comiskey Park.  I remember watching the games on a 10” portable in Hyde Park, and when a home run was hit, hearing the fireworks on the TV about 2 or 3 seconds before hearing them outside.

The Chicago Bears were a fun mess at the time.  Old Snowy Soldier Field has since been replaced by New Snowy Soldier Field.  Walter Payton has come and gone.  Mike Ditka has become a Chicago football icon.  “Da Bears” became a Saturday Night Live memory thanks to the many actors who spent a good amount of time at Second City.  Yet in 1985, the Bears had a glorious year, a year for the ages, winning the NFL Super Bowl with a dominating defense.  But not again.  And not soon.

The Sears Tower is no longer the tallest building in the world, and, for that matter, it is not even the Sears Tower anymore.  New iconic architecture has been put in place, but not as rapidly as pre-1980.  Michael Jordan brought the bright lights to Chicago with his magical, unmatched skills and a number of NBA championships.  Dennis Rodman taught us about odd hair-dos and bad fashion, but he knew how to defend.  With Derrick Rose, there is a glint of a chance of a return to an NBA Championship, but not a return to the glory days of Michael Jordan.

The Blackhawks.  Yes, the Blackhawks finally won a Stanley Cup.  One of the Original Six.  A great hockey fan base, but not a great hockey town like Boston or Toronto.  But, they finally won, and Chicago hockey fans had a short day of peace.

Back to the Chicago White Sox, who had their run of no World Series wins end this past decade.  It was a long time coming, not as painful as the Cubs or the Red Sox, but painful nonetheless.

And this leaves the Chicago Cubs with the oldest non-winning streak of any major U.S. sport.  The Cubs should be America’s team, but time and time again, they act like they don’t want to be a winner.  And so they don’t win.  They belong just about anywhere but Chicago, a city where people work hard and succeed.