Faith in Cubs is nice, but faith in God is always best

Hope is one of the three cardinal virtues, according to St. Paul. "Hope is dope," said poet Ogden Nash.

Living in Chicago again after 40 years of moving around the country, I'm convinced that this is a city of hope. I'm also convinced that both St. Paul and Ogden Nash are right about hope as it relates to Chicago.

Hope really does spring eternal in their hearts of Chicago fans. This year is a good example. At the beginning of their respective seasons, many Chicagoans were sure that the Cubs, White Sox, and Bears all were headed for success. After all, the Sox won it all in 2005, the Cubs spent plenty in the off-season, and the Bears lost in the Super Bowl last year. Hope was bubbling over.

However, the 2005 Sox weren't as good as they played. Everything broke their way in 2005, and when in 2006 they played down to their talent, their fans' hopes were dashed. Ogden Nash proved to be correct. This year, after a dismal season, the Sox again were through early.

The Cubs, with more ups and downs than a roller coaster, are in the playoffs as I write early in the week. We read and hear about how they could win it all this year, and we hope they will. But lurking in the corners of fans' minds is the suspicion that their hopes will probably be dashed once again. The question isn't "will it" but "when will it."

The Bears? Right now they have more holes than a sieve, a slice of Swiss cheese, a sponge, a chicken-wire fence (take your pick of the cliches). They have problems with quarterbacks, running backs, offensive linemen and defensive injuries. Fans hope it will all work out … but they suspect their hopes will be dashed again.

Chicago is known as the "Second City." We say that with pride, but being "Second City" also says there is someone out there better. And as I came back to Chicago I found its residents have a tremendous pride in their city but also a lurking sense of second best. We want to be best, hope to be best, but are not surprised when we turn out to be second-best.

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick," says the writer of the biblical book of Proverbs, and there is a lot of heart disease here. I think part of the problem is our insistence on hoping for the wrong things, for trivial things.

Professional sports championships are nice, but sports are recreation, and as done today they are played by mercenaries, not loyal citizens. The really important things in life are family, community, principles and values, and our relationship with the Ultimate, which in my belief structure is God. The Cubs, White Sox, Bears and Bulls together aren't nearly as important to me as are my family and my faith.

I believe the truths Jesus represents are what are right and true. They are values I should live by. That's where my real hope is placed. And so far I've never had reason to complain about being second-best. That is a hope that isn't dope.