My Dad

Last week my father was diagnosed with lung cancer.  For those of you who have experienced this or had a family member experience this, you know how difficult this news is when you first receive it.  The bad news is that my father has lung cancer.  The good news is that he's going to beat it.  He's going to become the next lung cancer survivor because he's got the love and support of his family and friends, a determination and desire to beat this, and a great, positive attitude and courage to overcome this obstacle and any that life throws at him. 

My father and I have always been close, but he was not a baseball fan like I was until May 27, 1984.  It was a Sunday afternoon and my dad was "channel surfing" when he stopped at WGN.  They had a baseball game on between the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs.  Ron Cey of the Cubs hit what appeared to be a homerun, but it was later ruled foul.  Replay cameras seemed to show that the ball was fair and me and my dad were yelling at the tv, "That is a fair ball!" What was memorable about that game was not that Mario Soto, Don Zimmer and Jim Frey were ejected from that game or that it was Dennis Eckersley's debut as a Cub.  What made it memorable was that it was the day that my dad and I became Cubs fans. 

We followed the Cubs that whole summer and we watched the Cubs clinch the National League East on September 24, 1984 against the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium.  We had so much fun that year watching the Cubs make an improbable run at the division and what we thought would be the pennant.  Game 5 of the 1984 NLCS on October 7, 1984 was the low point and I was in tears when the Cubs lost that game.  I was sad and disappointed that they had lost and the season was over, but more than anything I wasn't going to get to watch the Cubs in the World Series with my dad. 

Almost 20 years later the same thing happened on October 14, 2003 during Game 6 of the NLCS.  As we Cubs fans know all-too-well, the Cubs were up 3-0 in the top of the 8th inning.  It was after 10:00pm and my parents are usually in bed by this time, but I almost called them up to tell them I was coming down to visit because I wanted to be there with my dad when the Cubs clinched the NL pennant.  I am happy to say that I helped teach my dad a lot about the game of baseball.  However, my father has taught me so much more about life and it goes without saying that my father is my best friend.  Of course, my mother is my best friend, too.  It might sound corny to say, but if you were to ask me who my best friends are I'd say my parents because it is the truth.  My mom was also not a baseball fan until 10 years ago when she began to take interest in the game.  Now, she is a Red Sox fan that roots for the Cubs, but she is very knowledgeable of the game as is my dad and the three of us often will spend time watching games together. 

As a Cubs fan, 2009 is a year I'd like to forget and put behind me.  However, I am optimistic about both the future of the Cubs and my father.  I know that Thanksgiving and Christmas are only weeks away, but I am already looking forward to the spring.  If I could receive a Christmas present this year I'd only ask for one thing: my father to get better.  We talk about role models and heroes and many of us grow up emulating our favorite sports heroes.  As a grown-up today I want to emulate a true hero: my father.  My parents are my heroes and my father is the type of father, husband and man that I want to pattern myself after in life.  When my dad beats cancer I would like to take him and I to Wrigley Field to watch a ballgame.  Shamefully, we have never been to Wrigley Field before and we have talked about it in the past.  Of course, nothing would be sweeter than to be watching the Cubs in the World Series at Wrigley Field with my father. 

Thank you, Dad, for not changing the channel back on that day in May of 1984.  You, Mom and I have a lot more game watching to do and I can't wait to do it next spring.  I love you, Dad.  You're the best.