The founder and lead singer of the Smashing Pumpkins has the same disease we all do...Cubs-itis. He grew up in Chicago watching the Cubs with his grandmother (also a devoted fan).
With Billy Corgan, that personal connection to the Cubs began there, and continued with a love he developed for their ballpark. He discussed the way he felt about Wrigley Field in the Chicago Tribune a few years ago.
"Wrigley Field should never, ever be closed! EVER!!! The smart thing to do would be to tear down the existing stands (in foul territory), and rebuild those with better boxes to generate more luxury type revenue (see Fenway Park), and also deal with the dangerous, crumbling concrete. Aesthetically, of course, we would lose the outside look and feel of the old ballpark, which is important, but nowhere near as important as the field, the ivy-covered walls, the scoreboard, and the surrounding buildings in the neighborhood. That link to the past has everything to do with the traditional strong support of the Cubs fans ... win, or lose ... that should never be underestimated by the Cubs brass. Wrigley Field represents something even more important than any individual player ... not even winning can change that"
Billy Corgan was there for Game 7 in 2003. He sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" that night, after the Marlins had just added a few insurance runs. The entire ballpark was in a state of shock, and Billy was just as shocked...
"It was like a funeral or an Irish wake. People were crying. It was horrible. Absolutely horrible. There are times in life when you think God is punishing you. That was one of those times."
Near the end of 2008, ESPN interviewed Billy about his Cubs love, and he was already too tense to watch.
"I can't take that ride every day now. Maybe there will be a time when I'm older and I have kids and I can take them through that experience, but right now, I just can't."
When the season ended in the gut-wrenching way it did, he made it clear that he had been paying attention after all, and knew what caused last year's collapse: Eddie Vedder, who had written the song "All the way" for the 2008 Cubs. This is what Corgan allegedly told a Chicago concert crowd, according to the website Home Run Derby.
"If the Cubs did have a chance this last year that just passed. F---ing Eddie Vedder killed that s--- dead. Last I checked, Eddie ain't living here, OK? Eddie ain't living here to write a song about my f---ing team."
Now that's a Cubs fan. True Blue all the way.
We feel your pain, Billy. We have the disease too.
(Photo Credit/Risen Magazine)
