Hell Freezes Over (Chicago Cubs)

October 24, 2016

Back in 2005, Bill Simmons published Now I Can Die in Peace: How ESPN’s Sports Guy Found Salvation, with a Little Help From Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank, and the 2004 Red Sox. (He issued a revised edition when they won again a few years later).

Now that the Chicago Cubs have battled their way to the World Series, I wonder if the title will be used again from some long-suffering writer who has followed the team forever (Hello, Jonathan Eig, George Castle, and Ira Berkow). Maybe they’ll even update Damn Yankees!

https://i1.wp.com/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51TZCCNXJYL.jpg?resize=151%2C235&ssl=1My friend Andrew G. reminded me that the late W.P. Kinsella covered this topic in his short story “The Last Pennant Before Armageddon,” which appears in his collection The Thrill Of The Grass.

In the days leading up to the fall classic, I’m guessing there will be a few references to this tale.

A few more Cubs/pop culture items for your consideration:

Not to get too political here, but given the attitude over the presidential election, I wouldn’t be surprised is this were the last pennant.

After the Red Sox won in 2004, a whole lotta trees gave their lives so that dozens of books (more or less) could recapture the season in particular and revisit the team in a historical sense. Look for the same next year. I predict at least a couple of “quickies” coming out before the end of 2016  by the Chicago newspapers; they did the same when Ernie Banks passed away in 2015.

 

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Tagged as: Chicago Cubs, W.P. Kinsella, World Series

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