"Die-hard"

Being a 'die-hard' fan of anything is tough work. Usually there is no way to curb the utter devotion you have to whatever object you are a fan of. For the sake of this post, I'm saying this as a die-hard Cubs fan, but in my mind, a modern die-hard Cubs fan. So what's the difference between a 'modern' and a 'traditional?'

Well there are two ways to consider the updated version of a die-hard fan, and they swing in opposite directions.

1.) There is more technology at our fingertips than ever before. You can be so engrossed in your team that you watch games on a 60inch LED TV when you're home, and watch them on your 3.5inch touchscreen phone when you're not. You can access pages and pages of stats, find out injury updates, contract updates, criminal report updates (K-ROD), read recaps of minor league games, follow players from Single A Daytona to Double A Tennessee to Triple A Iowa, catch highlights and expert analysis on several different media outlets including satellite radio and multiple TV stations, and find tickets to any game you would want to go to between stub hub and Craigslist and any other ticket selling website.

Summary: You can be more involved in your team now than was ever possible, imaginable, conceivable 20 years ago.

2.) This is more of the Baseketball mentality... "Now your kids with your loud music, and your Dan Fogleberg, your Zima, hula hoops and pac-man video games, don't you see? People today have attention spans that can only be measured in nanoseconds!" Well the details probably aren't too transferable, but the message is the same. The same technologies that make it easier than ever to be a die-hard fan also provide enough distractions to cover up any remnants of a team you once worshiped. Hundreds of HD channels, thousands of iphone apps, millions of downloadable movies, billions of downloadable songs, and trillions of daily tweets can keep the average, digitally connected 'die-hard' occupied like port-o-potties at carnivals. We are a generation built to multi-task, trained to tune out that which doesn't immediately entertain us, and assembled to switch gears like Chicago drivers.

Summary: You can be disconnected quicker from your team now than was ever possible, imaginable, conceivable 20 years ago.

My point of laying all this out is to say that these days, unlike for 'traditional die-hards,' there's more to do every day than head to the ball park to catch a game, but that doesn't mean that I am any less of a die-hard fan. After all, what does it actually mean to be die-hard? Adj. "Stubbornly resisting change or clinging to a seemingly hopeless or outdated cause." Doesn't say anything about knowing every stat, watching every game, rising and falling with every win or loss. It just means that every year, we're back at the table, licking our lips at the chance of glory, even when you have more unmovable parts than a brick shit house (Thanks to Jim Hendry).

So now that I don't feel like I'm wronging anyone, I'm here to say that sometimes it's nice to be able to hang up the jersey a little early. In the last few weeks, I have been moving nonstop, following plans sometimes 4, 5, 6 nights in a row, using weekends to their fullest, going up to lake houses, boating, working late, running errands, assembling my new home theater, playing volleyball, playing softball, and generally filling my time without added responsibility to check scores, standings, and stats as the Cubs finish out their season. The 2010 season is lost. I'll get back into baseball as the Division races heat up, I'll root against the Sox, and I'll look forward to the playoffs, but when you're able to slide off the shackles that being a die-hard fan can put on you and just enjoy the rest of what life has to offer, it can be quite a positive experience.

I'm committed to being a Cubs fan, and couldn't possibly fathom ever rooting for another baseball team for the course of a season, but to survive as a passionate fan of anything, you have to be able to thrive as much with it as without it.