UPDATE: Cubscast will be back with a new episode tomorrow (Tuesday Oct. 7th), and we’re preparing a Season-in-Review episode for Monday Oct. 13th. Stay tuned!

It’s hard to describe the pain of losing this time. The Cubs lose all the time, every year for a hundred years now, but this one really hurt. Because despite the fact that we say it every year, I really did think this year was our year. But it wasn’t.

And I as much as I hate to say it, thinking about it now, I don’t really think the Cubs will ever win the World Series. And I hate saying that. And I know it’s probably the pain of this year talking, and I hope every fan out there who is older than me and has seen more devastation than I have, as well as every fan who is younger and seen much less and thus doesn’t deserve to have his hopes called into question, will forgive me, but let’s face it…we’re never going to win the World Series.

The purpose of the Cubs is to never win the World Series. That’s what they are meant to be, a team that never wins. We signed up for the wrong team. Or the right team if you take pleasure in being the forever underdog, everyone’s favorite sentimental team, whatever you want to call it. Part of me does. Maybe that’s pathetic, but that’s the Cubs. It’s not these players as some might claim, the Cubs franchise is simply never going to win the World Series again. I know that’s stupid and it’s easy to call bulls*&t on, blame bad ownership, sub par teams, day games, whatever. Reality is, the best evidence we have to date shows the Cubs aren’t going to win the World Series ever again. The Marlins have won 2 and most of you reading this have been around longer than they have. Tampa is a game away from the ALCS. Tampa. The Cubs aren’t cursed; they will just never win the World Series. And we Cub fans will always be able to take a weird pleasure in songs claiming that “someday we’ll go all the way” because we know in reality, we never will.

Or at least likely never will.

I guess it’s that little bit of hope that keeps us coming back… And as much as I hate to admit it, as clear as it is to me right now that if we didn’t win this year, we’re never gonna win, I guess there is a tiny bit of hope still there. And maybe that tiny bit of hope is still enough.

…Ok, let me revise my statement— the Cubs will probably never win the World Series. That’s the reality we all face, and if you don’t buy it, you’re fooling yourself.

But damn it, if they do, it’s gonna feel great. I just pray we’re all around to see it.

Other than recording an episode (mp3) right after the Game 2 loss, we’ve been quiet here at Cubscast. At the same time, though, we’ve been listening intently to (and reading closely) the voicemails and e-mails from listeners decrying the Cubs bad fielding, Big Z’s emotional strength, the paltry TBS coverage, and more. We’ll be playing and reading many of these on our next episode.

As the hours dwindle before this potentially great win or utterly devastating loss, I want to share a message we received from longtime listener Roxan (aka georgiacub) yesterday morning:

Hey Ya’ll

p.s. I try not to pray about baseball because God has so much going on, but I will be slipping a few in there!

I hope posting this encourages Roxan a little bit, though of course a Game 3 win will go a long way in salving some wounds from the first two at Wrigley. Either way, we at Cubscast know without a doubt that we’re “in this thing together” with an awesome group of people from around the world. Thanks to those in the fan community that are helping others out of the doldrums.

Here’s hoping the Cubs make a game and series of things. Go Cubs!

Cubs Fans-

You’re thrilled. You’ve been running around all day getting Old Style, Cubs napkins, baseball plates, red and blue streamers… maybe even some sort of pin the tail on the Piniella party game. You are ready. But tonight’s TV broadcast on TBS is sure to be annoying at times. So please, allow me to lower your expectations before they rise too high. We are in for 3-5 games of the following:

- 100 Year Drought Talk. Hey, did you guys know the Cubs haven’t won in 100 years? Maybe TBS will play a montage of things invented since 1908! I bet there’s a really old, cute Cubs fan you could put the
camera on now.

- Manny Being Manny. Face it. You’re about to hear that phrase a million times. Get a hair cut, hippie.

- Possible RedLine Series! Possible RedLine Series!

- One time, there was this guy named Steve Bartman…. Get ready to hear about him after every foul ball to the left field seats.

-  What is this baseball game that TBS keeps showing between these Frank TV ads I’ve tuned in to watch?

-  Zambrano threw a no hitter but boy is he emotional!

-  Joe Torre Vs. Lou Piniella: who has the harder to spell last name? 

- Celebrity Cubs Fans Vs. Celeb Dodger Fans. Special sidebar: do the Cubs fans also root for the Sox?

That’s what we have to look forward to. Me? I’m gonna watch on mute and listen to the radio, which I’m sure you’re about to hear was not invented in 1908, the last time the Cubs won the World Series.

Along with a preview of Game 1 & 2 of the Cubs NLDS matchup with the Dodgers, Wednesday’s episode (mp3) features a several interview clips from Tuesday afternoon’s Cubs Postseason Rally at Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago. I interviewed Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White along with a handful of fans including the venerable Ronnie Woo-Woo Wickers. It was a fun time and if you’re visiting Cubscast for the first time after hearing about it at the rally, welcome!

If you didn’t have a chance to see or hear the rally, here are a few clips from the event:

Jim Belushi (mp3)
Billy Williams, Ron Santo, and Ernie Banks (mp3)
Crane Kenney (mp3)
Mayor Richard Daley (mp3)
Governor Rod Blagojevich (mp3)

And a few photos:

Many thanks to Brad Spirrison and the Chicago Sun-Times for mentioning Cubscast in today’s Tech Matters column. I’ve been hoping for a little daylight to explain our philosophy and why we put so much effort into Cubscast, and I think now is the time on account of the quote Brad opted to use:

“(With Cubscast) you don’t have to sit through 10 minutes of commercials or White Sox talk,” said co-host Andrew Figgins, a Rogers Park-based new media consultant. “It’s coming from die-hard sports fans who are passionate about the Cubs and are not paid to be passionate.”

If you’ve listened to the show for more than a couple episodes, it’s likely that you’ve heard us skewer ESPN or FOX for their predictably inane national coverage of the Cubs. For example on today’s episode (mp3) I mentioned preparing for the endless deluge of Dempster closer-to-starter talk during Wednesday’s NLDS Game 1. Annoyance with out of town commentary is one thing, and that sentiment is hardly original or new.

What is original is a growing feeling among Cubs fans that sitting through 57 minutes of Baseball Tonight to get 3 minutes of dedicated Chicago Cubs commentary is a giant and unacceptable waste of time. Maybe it wasn’t a waste 3 years ago, but today it is. Tivo changed everything (as one of my co-hosts knows more than most), and there is absolutely no reason anyone should ever have to gut out those 57 minutes or the 28 minutes for a local newscast to get their Cubs fix. As evidenced by my quote, even sports talk radio involves listening to unwanted information.

That’s why Cubscast was invented, and why we’re looking to thrive for years to come.

I recently heard the quote “Success on the Internet means solving a problem that the Internet didn’t cause.” We’ll keep doing our part.

Please join us as we follow and cover the Cubs postseason run! Cubscast will be doing at least 3 new episodes each week. It’s easy and free to subscribe today via iTunes or e-mail.