Chicago, there's a new team in town

It's finally that time of year. It's getting a bit colder, the leaves are changing and the seemingly 18-month major league baseball season is finally culminating. That means the playoffs, probably the most exciting sporting event held every October, are here. And despite the naysayers who always whine about baseball being boring, games being too long and all that other bologna, I'm as excited as ever. Just like the girls that sit behind me in Assembly Hall and ask how many quarters are left, these haters can't diminish the thrill.\nNow, because I'm a Tigers fan, watching past August is never necessary for me. If my team ever made it back to the postseason, it wouldn't know how to handle the climate change anyway, it's so used to giving up when it's still warm. \nAnyway, because Detroit is always out when the playoffs roll around, I have to find a better team to pledge my allegiance to. So, as fellow columnist Ryan Phillips loves to remind me, I like to root for the underdog -- aka whichever team is playing the Yankees. That's right, I can cheer for whoever I want. Whether I'm bringing out my rally monkey or just "cowboying up," my team is already out of it. \nBut this year, I'm pumped for a different reason -- I don't have to hear about, watch or listen to everyone talk about the Cubs.\nThat's right, the ugly stepchild of the Windy City, the White Sox, have stolen the spotlight away from the lovable losers by winning the AL Central.\nAlthough they started slipping at the end of the season, the South Siders are in the playoffs, which is more than the Cubbies can say.\nWith another Cubs season come and blown, I'm again wondering, what exactly is the appeal of being a Cubs fan? \nI mean, in Detroit, we know what it is like to be bad. The Tigers haven't won the Fall Classic since 1984, but at least we don't say "this is the year" year after year after year. The Cubs are straight up cursed. Why would anyone want to support a team they already know is cursed? That's like using a time machine to go back and see what a ride on the Titanic would have been like. \nLike I said before, I have no problem jumping on a bandwagon after my team is out of it, but if I'm still jumping on bandwagons in 97 years, I'm probably going to accept defeat. \nEvery year we hear it's going to be the Cubs' year. And every year, the excuses pour out come postseason time. \n"Wood got hurt," they say. "But Prior wasn't healthy," they yell come October. It's time for Cubs' fans to realize: It doesn't matter! Every year it's a different excuse, and every year people think it's going to be different than the last. Optimism is one thing, but there comes a time when you have to acknowledge your team's ownership doesn't do what it takes to win.\nFor any of you Cubs fans who see the light and finally decide to jump ship, we'll take you in Detroit. If nothing else, at least we know we aren't making the playoffs.