Sports: A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request

Steve Goodman: A Dying Cub Fan‘s Last Request

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As I write this, baseball season is drawing to a close. The Cubs have not been eliminated from postseason contention yet, but it looks more and more likely. Steve Goodman would have understood. Goodman obviously loved music. His other great love was the city of Chicago in general, and the Cubs in particular. I’m sure he didn’t have to do any research to come up with the names of the players used in this song.

In 1969, Steve Goodman was diagnosed with leukemia. His musical career began the next year. The whole time he was making his wonderful music, Goodman lived with the knowledge that he was on borrowed time. He finally succumbed in 1984. Goodman was in the position to do something very few people can do: he put a last wish in a song for all to hear. After his death, Goodman’s ashes were indeed scattered over Wrigley Field. Shortly thereafter, the Cubs began a run of respectability that continues to this day. But even with Goodman watching over them, the Cubs have yet to reach the World Series. They are, after all, the Cubs.