Cubs fan finds stress relief in America’s pastime

Let me just take a moment and say, “Go, Cubs, Go!” I am unbelievably proud to be a Cubs fan. When people say it’s just a game, it’s infuriating, to say the least.

I was panicking before the game because my Cubs jersey still hasn’t come in, and my shirt was dirty, so I didn’t have on Cubbie Blue. Baseball is the one thing that I’m superstitious about and was convinced that the Cubs would lose because I wasn’t wearing the right shade of blue. After talking to my equally superstitious father, I got over the germ and gross factor, threw on my shirt and watched the game. The Cubs won in extra innings, 8-7. Every single Cubs fan watching the entire game on the edge of their seats bled Cubbie Blue.

Of all the sports I could have picked to be a fan of, baseball seemed the most logical thing to me. I played the basic sports that parents put their kids in to socialize, and in high school, I played golf, but nothing lit a flame in my soul like Cubs baseball.

Baseball season is the time of year that I look forward to, and when it flips to Spring Training, my eyes are in Mesa, Arizona and Jupiter, Florida.

To quote Jimmy Fallon in “Fever Pitch,” “Because they haven’t won a World Series in a century or so? So what? They’re here. Every April, they’re here. At 1:05 or at 7:05, there is a game. And if it gets rained out, guess what? They make it up to you. Does anyone else in your life do that?” The Cubs are my team, and even if they didn’t win the 2016 World Series, I would still love them.

My father gave me the name “Ryne” after Ryne Sandberg, his favorite Cub. I grew up in a family that encouraged me to have a passion for anything positive. Even as a very active child, the one thing that has always stuck with me has been baseball. It was ever present in my rivalry-split home, my father being a Cubs fan and my nana and older sister being Cardinal fans. I’m thankful that my nana and father passed on their love for such an amazing sport. I found my escape when I was young, and it has helped me immensely during my first semester of college.

We all need distractions sometimes, and finding your passion, your outlet, is unbelievably important. Not only is it something that you enjoy, but it can take your mind off of things for a while.

There’s a lot of stress in college and sometimes students need to escape the things that are causing stress. Whether it’s hanging out with friends, going home on the weekends or following a favorite sport, there are many ways to find an outlet. Not only does it allow students to get to do the thing they like, but they can also find other people around campus interested in the same thing.

I was lucky enough to find a guy friend who is as intensely into the Cubs as I am, and we’ve bonded over that. College is a time for finding the things you love and finding your Zen.