It’s Sunday in the Windy City. My wife and I prepare for church in silence. On a day of mourning such as this, not a word passes between us.

When we arrive, we notice how most people are carrying the same grim expressions as ours. Conversations abound. People attempt to remain cheery. No one mentions the horrible events of the previous week. The pain is understood. Everyone feels it, and yet everyone is numb to it. It seems like every few years the same thing happens.

It’s October 5. The Cubs have once again choked, and are out of the playoffs.

Fast forward a few weeks. Suddenly Chicago is alive with energy. My wife and I see people jubilant in the street. All around are families sporting their favorite team t-shirt. We all have the same sense of destiny. This is our year.

We gather with strangers around the sports field, and watch the jumbo screen in anticipation. When victory is declared, a wave of emotion hits the audience and total strangers begin hugging each other. We finally did it. Chicago is the envy of every city in the nation.

It’s November 4. Barack Obama has been elected President.

I have been a Cubs fan from a very young age, before I lived in Chicago. But encountering Chicago-based Cubs fans is a different experience entirely. These people have stuck by their team despite decades of failure, and weathered the times when they got so close to their dream only to be disappointed.

These are the Cubs fans for life. The fans that follow every game every year. The fans that refer to the Cubs as “us”. The fans that love their team, but critique them at every possible moment. Because tied into the wins and losses of the Cubs are their hopes and dreams. These fans are the God-please-let-them-win-a-World-Series-before-I-die fans.

In the same vain, Chicago is full of hardcore Democrats-for-life. And they’ve just won their World Series.

These fans are not fair-weather fans anymore than the Cubs fans are. They understand the roster. They know the stats. Their hopes and dreams are tied into each election. And yet the difference I find is their inability to critique the direction of their team.

I’ve met Republicans who are the same way. I grew up around them. I went to college with them. They listen to whatever party leaders tell them and that’s what they believe. Lou Piniella should try that in Chicago.

I guess my point, if I have one, is that I don’t understand. Politics and sports both involve competition. They both have team colors. They even both have mascots. But applying undying loyalty to a political party? I’d rather not make a game out of the future of my country, thank you very much.

I’m sure that there are Republicans out there that felt the same way on November 5 that we Cubs fans felt on October 5. They should take a trip to the Windy City. We have extensive experience with loss.

(P.S. Continuing along the sports and politics analogy, there are those out there who, similar to sports, say that politics just doesn’t interest them. It’s OK to not be a sports fan; it’s not OK to not care where your country is going. Just sayin’.)