10-27-16 Cubs win Pennant, Underdog syndrome

Waking up to the new world of a Cubs Pennant

The Cubs defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers and reserved their place at the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians. But before the World Series battle with the Cleveland Indians, the Cubs pennant victory inspired a generation of people nurtured in the aura of the "underdog" culture.

Oct. 27, 2016 DVN, SWNH, Regional News, Reporter Newspapers

By Ray Hanania

I've always loved the Chicago Cubs, ever since I was a kid on the South Side of Chicago where most of my neighbors were all diehard White Sox fans.

Still, maybe my love was with the Cubs' name. But I admired its players and fell in love with one of the greatest baseball parks in America, Wrigley Field.

Cheering for the Cubs to win the Pennant has always been fun, in a large part because they have always fallen short -- it's been 108 years since their last World Series victory (1908) and 71 years since winning their last Pennant (1945).

The Chicago Cubs were the "underdogs" of baseball, and maybe that
helped Cubs fans survive the losses and a mythical curse many claimed as the excuse.

The "underdog" is a powerful symbol of determination, persistence, and stubbornness. I'm definitely an "underdog" fan, especially in politics. But my love came from the popular “Underdog” animated TV series from the 1960s. ...

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This is Ray Hanania’scolumn commentary Podcast … Hanania’s columns are published each week innewspapers throughout the United States and in the Middle East.

 

 

He writes on Americanpolitics and life in Chicagoland every week in the Des Plaines Valley News,Southwest News-Herald, The Regional News, the Reporter Newspapers,NewsAmericaNetwork.com, and IllinoisNewsNetwork.com.

 

Hanania also writes aweekly column every Thursday for the Arab News at www.ArabNews.com. And, writesnews and features for his website at TheArabDailyNews.com.

 

An award winningformer Chicago City Hall reporter named Best Ethnic Columnist by the NewAmerica Media, and recipient of the Sigma Delta Chi award for writing, Hananiais of Palestinian Arab heritage. 

 

You can reach him andshare your opinions and thoughts by emailing him at rghanania@gmail.com. Allhis columns are archived at RayHanania.com.

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