I think it must be me.....

I seem to have a problem attending sporting events in which "my" team actually wins. This has been a long standing problem for me. Apparently when I attend the event (as predisposed by the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle) I in some way cause my team to lose. Heisenberg basically said that "the act of observing a process changes the result". I'm not quite sure how this works but it simply must be the case because it happens every time I attend - they lose.

Last Thursday I went to see my favorite baseball team, the Chicago White Sox, play a game against the Toronto Blue Jays (and just how did a Canadian baseball team get into the American baseball leages exactly?). The Sox had been experiencing some difficulty with the Jays early in this series but on Wed night, the Sox found the winning formula and put the game away with 1 run to spare.

So, I was hopeful that on Thur when a group of my friends from work and I went to the game, that the Sox might hang onto that winning secret and redeem the evening for me (which included a very painful and long drive to downtown Chicago to get to the game and a very long drive home too). However, such was not to be the case.

I'd have to say the relatively new Sox stadium (called Cellular Field - formerly Comiskey Park) was very nice indeed. It is a lot cleaner and neater than Wrigley and much better arranged. I've been to both stadiums to watch both the Sox and Cubs play (I'm not a hater) but I'd have to say the Sox stadium is much nicer.

Upon arrival, the anthem had been sung already because I was running a bit late but I found my friends and joined them for a hopeful Sox victory. After 7 innings in which neither team had really done much of anything apart from putting some guys on base and then getting thrown out, the Jays managed in the top of the 8th inning to put 6 runs on the board - ARGH! Well, we were a bit worried and thinking all was lost when suddenly the Sox got their bats wrapped around some balls too and the score closed to a 6 to 4 lead by the Jays. That was good because it kept "us" in the game. Then in the 9th inning, the Sox did a great job of pitching the Jays some no-hitters and that brought the Sox to bat in the bottom of the ninth with just a 2 run deficit. The Sox created some additional excitement when they put two guys on base and with 2 outs already, it was up to the last batter (I'll leave him nameless) to either hit a home-run (and win the game by 1 run) or at least knock in the other two guys for a tie and overtime. Unfortunately the Jays pitcher had another idea (strike him out) and that's exactly what happened. So, that was the end of the evening.

I'd have to say it is very nice to get to see the game in person but the drive and cost (On top of my $28 ticket and $22 parking, I paid $8 for a 12 oz coke and a 24 oz bag of peanuts) will probably keep me from doing it more frequently than a couple of times a year. Still it was great fun and I really enjoyed the game but I would enjoy it a lot more if I could figure out how to break the Jonah curse that I seem to carry and thus get to see my team win one sometime. Oh well, I seem to be better able to watch my favorite sports teams by television where I do no harm so tomorrow I will be watching the Packers hopefully win another game.

Go Sox and I hope you can close out your season as still the divison champs!

Love to all,
- JR -