If you know me, you'll instantly know the rest of my family bleeds Cubbie Blue. Every time I come up in conversation from my family, they never fail to tell people I was raised by wolves since I am a White Sox fan. Now, I definitely do NOT bleed Black and White, but I have enjoyed the Sox's earlier progress. I used to silently root for the Cubs because I appreciated and gave credit to certain players on the team a few years back. Starting from Sammy Sosa's 12 years of being a Cub filled with various MVP awards, to Derrek Lee's immensely intimidating batting average of .400 in 2007 with the Cubs, they were always that lovable team. When I would go to a Cubs game with my family, there would be a much more significant amount of families compared to a White Sox game. About a decade ago, I could name nearly every player on the Chicago White Sox. Paul Konerko was absolutely one of my favorites with his impeccable fielding as their first baseman, as well as his grand slam in the 2005 World Series. Once Ozzie Guillen decided to trade Jim Thome soon after he earned his 500th career home-run, that is when I started to lose interest in the Sox.

I view myself as a "player-fan", which basically means I appreciate some noted individual players perhaps more than the entire team.When the Cubs decided to trade D. Lee, that was when my small interest in the Cubs lowered. Then the White Sox decided to trade Paul Konerko, and Jim Thome not long after each other, I no longer felt obligated to watch the team play. This year though, the Cubs have some names that will never be forgotten. Names of guys who are breaking right through that glass ceiling, and asking for more. Names such as Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, Dexter Fowler, Addison Russell, and so on. For as long as I can remember, the Cubs were never that team to be on top. They were always that team with the slogan of, "there's always next year." This team has had various curses placed on them, ranging from a black cat walking past a man on-deck to bat, the infamous Bartman Ball, and just not having very good players, managers, or crew members. I still remember sitting in Buffalo Wild Wings in Macomb with my dad. He is one of the hugest, and most die-hard Cubs fan I may ever know. He would follow along with the team, even in the off-season, by giving me stats and stories I could probably go my whole life without knowing about. So, we were sitting there eating dinner, when ESPN just announced that the Cubs had acquired Jason Heyward from the St. Louis Cardinals for their season. My dad looked at me, and told me that this is the start of something phenomenal. I gave him the usual look us non-Cubs fans give every Cubs fan whenever they speak those words. Turns out, he was absolutely right. So, I'll be rooting for the Cubbies this year, and maybe some years to come. When they do have the rings made and give the shirts out to the players, I think my dad should definitely get a shirt. Tom Ricketts, you better get on it.