Tearin' up my heart

... Watching the Brewers-Cubs game. No other place I want to be tonight. This is the series ...

Unfortunately, I only caught the ninth inning of last night's game because I was playing a Cubs game of my own. Too bad, I'd like to think if I had been watching I might have been able to cheer the Brewers on to a win last night ...

I've drawn a lot of questions this week about the series, what I think of it and who I'm rooting for ...

My answer: Any other year I'd be cheering my heart out for the Cubs -- they're playing so well, and I can't help but think this might finally be their year ... but the fact that it's coming at the expense of the Brewers -- who've treated us to such a magical and promising season -- is making it really hard to enjoy. It kind of breaks my heart actually ...

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So call me a fair weather fan all you want, but I have my reasons ...

You see I've been cheering for both these teams about as long as I've known how to throw a baseball. I grew up cheering for those Brewers teams of Molitor and Yount and Gantner (not to mention Greg Brock, B.J. Surhoff, Teddy Higuera, Greg Vaughn, and Dale Sveum) and those Cubs teams of Sandberg, Dawson, Dunston, Grace, Sutcliffe, Luis Salazar and Les Lancaster. The Brewers were the American League team; the Cubs were in the National League ...

Ok, so I lost touch with the Brewers when I moved to Kansas City and the Royals took some of my American League spirit. Yount and Gantner retired, Molitor moved to Toronto, the Brewers changed to those ugly green and navy blue uniforms and I suddenly had no idea who any of the guys were on the field ...

Thanks to Harry Caray and WGN, though, my Cubs love only grew stronger ...

But a few years ago, I returned to Brewers country, where Milwaukee had returned to the National League and joined the Cubs in the NL Central. Slowly I started watching again, but they were years away from contending ...

Now here we are. The last couple seasons, Kates and I have gone to about twice as many Cubs games, and we've gotten to know and enjoy watching this new crop of players -- J.J. Hardy, Prince Fielder, Billy Hall, Rickie Weeks and this year, Ryan Braun ...

Sigh.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The Cubs haven't earned any points this year with me for buying their pennant team. And they've been to the postseason four times in the last 25 years ...

The Brewers have grown their own crop of players. They haven't had a winning season since 1992. They haven't even tasted the playoffs since 1982 ...

If the Cubs are the only team standing come October, I'll be rooting my heart out for them again ...

But until then ...