It's still difficult to believe in the Cubs

I wish I could get excited about the Cubs and their chances of getting into the World Series and actually winning it, but I can't.

I was 11 years old the last time they played in a World Series. It was against Detroit. Those were the days when the better teams were the ones with the healthiest 4F's (guys who couldn't pass the physical for induction into the armed forces).

They were the days when Bill "Swish" Nicholson, Andy Pafko and Peanuts Lowry were our heroes and household names.

But they lost in seven games and not repeated during the next 62 years.

When frustration set in around 1955, a very popular joke made the rounds:

"Hey! Did you hear? Some rich guy in the Philippines wants to buy the Cubs and rename them The Manila Folders."

Len Brauer

Palatine