Grass Drifted, Curse Lifted?

The Cubs win yesterday was truly exciting and the team seems to really be gaining confidence with every win. What is the reason for the Cubs recent success? Timely hitting, good pitching and defense, sure these are all elements of impetus for the Cubs recent winning, but something else may be at work here. Perhaps, just perhaps the so-called curse has been broken!

First off, I don’t believe in curses and all that superstitious stuff. However, since the Cubs haven’t won a World Series since 1908, sometimes drastic measures are in order and us fans must do our part. A little background before telling you what I did to try and change the Cubs destiny. As mentioned here in a previous blog I was headed to Wrigley Field with the Mesa Hohokams, it turned out to be a fantastic trip and the Cubs won both games we attended June 14th and 15th. On my way to Chicago I stopped in French Lick Springs and West Baden Springs Indiana, if the names sound familiar to you it might be because the Cubs held spring training there in the early 1900’s and then during WWII. You may also recognize the name of French Lick as the boyhood home of Larry Bird.

I was in the “Springs Valley”, as it’s called, to finish the final shooting of the “Boys of Spring” Cubs documentary, which will premier during next Cubs Convention in January. The Cubs held spring training in the Springs area when they won the World Series in 1907 and 1908, as well as the last time they went to the Series in 1945. The area was a health mecca back in the early 1900’s because of the water in the local springs which was claimed to have great medicinal qualities.

So while filming there I got the idea that I should take some of the winning grass from what was the training field when the Cubs last won the World Series and then deposit some on Wrigley Field and then on the field at Hohokam Stadium. The “Springs Valley” turf after all was the sod trodden by Tinker, Evers, and Chance and the rest of the Cubs prior to those championship seasons and perhaps, just perhaps it still held some of that winning magic mojo. Getting the grass from the West Baden field was the easy part, sprinkling it on Wrigley would be more difficult.

I suppose I could have tried to pull some strings and get on the field to deposit the “Springs Championship Turf” which will now be referred to as SCT, but I wanted to deposit the SCT casually before enjoying the ballgame. I had to find a spot that the Wrigley grass goes right to the brick (without a gravel barrier) which is up the lines toward left and right field, so that I could ensure the SCT would find the Wrigley sod. There is only a small area where this happens on each side, so I chose the left field line (close to the infamous Bartman area). However the ushers on that side aren’t the types who enhance the name “friendly” confines, as I couldn’t even get close to the wall (must still be the Bartman karma). So I headed to opposite side by right field, as luck would have it no ushers in the immediate vicinity, I casually gathered the SCT and reached over the side and let loose of the winning vegetation.

One of the fans sitting next to this area was clearly puzzled at what I was doing, so I told him of the SCT and why I had tossed it onto Wrigley, to which he said “You broke the curse!” Now, I don’t claim to be any curse breaker but as they say “it couldn’t hurt” and the team is 11 wins and 4 losses since the SCT made it’s way onto Wrigley.

“The Drop” SCT meets Wrigley