Ups and Downs, and Maybe 120 Bucks Down the Drain

   I spent most of last evening watching the Bulls manhandle the Celtics. It was one of those games that leaves a fan with a warm feeling in his heart. My favorite player, Derrick Rose had a huge game (30 points, eight assists and five rebounds) and the win left the Bulls with a magic number of one to clinch home court throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Bulls are having a great season, easily the best since the Michael Jordan era, and it has come during the most exciting NBA regular season I can remember. That's the good news.

   It carried a sharp contrast to my other sports love this time of year, that being baseball. Anyone that knows me is aware that a core part of my identity is my devotion to the Cubs in the face of all logic. This team has caused me heartache, consternation and occasional conniptions for the last 30-plus years. Still, I stay loyal. Over the years I have come to understand being a Cubs fan is like being in a battered relationship. We stand by them despite the hurt, and tell ourselves lies to make it all make sense. "Oh, they've changed. They wouldn't do it to us again. It was a one-time thing. They were drunk when they made those trades. If we stay, it just shows them how much we love them and then they'll love us back." Then by Memorial Day, bang! boom! two black eyes.

   Nothing comes easy, and I'm not even talking about the fact that we're 3-3 after playing two teams that finished dead last in 2010 while losing two starting pitchers to the disabled list. No, I'm talking about trying to even SEE the flippin' games in 2011.

   Let me explain. I got rid of satellite TV last summer. I just decided it was not worth the money when you can see so much on the internet these days. Contrary to most predictions, I have not regretted this decision at all. I bought NBA League Pass and MLB.TV packages so I can see the games in a nice, clear video stream. Each of those is about as much as one month's Directv bill was last year, so I'm coming out well ahead. One small downside is all of these computer packages have blackout restrictions. Fine, I understand that. The deal with MLB's is that the home team for your area is blacked out live. You cannot watch the games as they happen on the computer because they want you to either buy tickets or watch them on local TV.

   Here in New Albany the local team is the Cincinnati Reds. It makes sense. Cinci is the closest major league city. While I like watching the Reds, I could live with the idea of only seeing their games once archived. To double-check, I sent an email to MLB customer service and called a man (whose real name was not Albert) and received two different responses stating the Reds are the only team that should be blacked out.

   After ponying up my 120 bucks for the package, I settled in on Opening Day to watch my Cubs play the Pirates. As I clicked on the game, I was informed, contrary to Apu's Albert's guarantee, the Cubs were blacked out. I groaned and tried again. No go. According to the MLB website, I was in Chicago's home market, 300 miles away. With minutes to go until gametime, I frantically called customer service while throwing on a jacket and racing to my car to make it to Buffalo Wild Wings in time for first pitch. As I sped through town, driving with one hand with the other cupped to my ear arguing with customer service, the agent then told me since my IP Address (for reasons known only to AT&T) is routed through Indianapolis (120 miles up I-65) and their system goes by IP Address, I would not only be blacked out of Cubs games, but also Reds and White Sox games. Suddenly that 120 dollars did not seem like such a good decision.

   He did ask what my IP address was, and said he could, over the phone enter in my IP and unblock me, allowing me to see the game. This would have helped a lot had I been home, and not just entering Buffalo Wild Wings. It was also of limited help since my IP address changes several times a day, meaning I'd have to call Mujibur Fred daily in order to keep my IP unblocked. As much fun as that sounds, it looks like I'll be listening to a lot of Cubs games this season.

   So it's never easy. But as always, I found a way to suck it up as Cubs fans often do. I found a table at Buffalo Wild Wings, ordered some buffalo chips and an iced tea and watched the opener, knowing I was unlikely to be able to see a live game from the comforts of home unless it was on the FOX game of the week.

   As the game went on, my waiter glanced up at the screen, saw who was playing and said, "You a Cubs fan?" Realizing my Cubs jacket and T-shirt may have just been a clever diversionary disguise, I confirmed I was indeed a fan of the team. "Oh well, they're going to lose anyway," he said, walking off.

   He was not tipped.



A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request - Steven Goodman

-written by the man who wrote "City of New Orleans" and "You Never Even Called Me By My Name."