Constable: Wrigley elevator man says these are the ups and downs of Cubs life
From his perch inside Wrigley Field's lone elevator, 82-year-old John L. Haupt of Des Plaines needs only his ears to read the writing on the wall for his 2015 Chicago Cubs. Two home runs give New York a 4-0 lead before the Cubs even come to bat, turning the muffled roar of Cubs fans into a gloomy silence inside the elevator.
“I knew the first inning, they (the Mets) were having a ball,” says Haupt, who was a 12-year-old usher when the 1945 Cubs ended their season with a World Series loss at Wrigley. “It's just beyond unbelievable how we got stomped on here.”
With no view, no TV, no radio and not even a signal on his smartphone inside the metal elevator, Haupt gets his game updates from dejected Cubs fans who need a lift in every sense of that word after a 8-3 loss and a four-game New York sweep.
“People seem to forget this is a young ballclub,” Haupt says of the Cubs. “And these young guys had one hell of a season.”
One elevator passenger refers to the annual “bumming” that has ended every Cubs season of his life. Some talk about a “curse.” If it's not a goat from 1945 or a black cat from 1969, it's Steve Garvey in 1984 or Will Clark in 1989. Younger fans wail about that 2003 foul ball against the Florida Marlins. The only “curse” from 2015 comes from the amazing hitting performance by the Mets' Daniel Murphy and the dominant young pitching arms on a World Series-bound New York team that just happened to be a bit better than a very good young Cubs team for four straight games.
“We still believe!” proclaims Sheri Emmert of Sycamore just before the Cubs squander a bases-loaded opportunity. Emmert and husband, Dave, daughter Claire, 17, and son Caden, 10, say they are happy to be a part of this game even if they are sitting in the very last seats in the very last row in the upper deck down the right-field line.
“I always appreciate that fan every night that I look up there and see that that seat is filled,” Cubs Manager Joe Maddon told Daily Herald Cubs beat reporter Bruce Miles during this National League championship series. The Emmert family realize how special it is to be watching Cubs baseball on Oct. 21.
No Cubs fan expected this glorious season. Coming off consecutive last-place finishes after a 101-loss season, the Cubs lost the home opener on Easter Sunday on a cold night against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Wrigley Field bleachers were empty, save for plywood, tarps and the shadows of new video boards. There was a moment of silence for Mr. Cub Ernie Banks, whose smile could no longer brighten the Friendly Confines. Jon Lester, the pitching ace brought in to be the savior of the Cubs, couldn't last five innings and got nailed with the 3-0 loss. Cubs batters went 0-13 with runners in scoring position. Cubs fielders made two errors. The result was a shutout loss to an archrival.
“Fabulous, it was a fabulous night,” Maddon said after that game. “Other than us not winning, I thought a great night for everybody, for Chicago Cubs baseball.”
Even for delusional Cubs fans desperate for signs of hope, Maddon seemed a bit optimistic.
But just as Wrigley Field was under construction, so were our Cubs. Absent from the Opening Day roster were rookies Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Javy Baez. We fans didn't know then that Jake Arrieta would put up the best second half in baseball history. We didn't know then that Bryant would still show up in time to notch 26 home runs and 99 RBIs, or that Schwarber would arrive to crush 16 homers, and five more in the postseason.
Instead of the heartache we felt from watching superior teams such as the 1984 Cubs, 2003 Cubs or 2008 Cubs fall short of expectations, we take comfort in knowing this Cubs team exceeded expectations and should have plenty of chances to try again for the mountaintop.
Wednesday night's pounding will go down in the books as yet another postseason loss, but it seems much more like the laying of a foundation for the championship (or championships) to come — sort of like the Chicago Bulls' last loss to the Detroit Pistons before Chicago's glorious championship run in the 1990s.
“This is it. We can't go any farther,” Haupt tells fans as the elevator stops at the fourth floor. After getting by the Pirates and the Cardinals, the Cubs couldn't go any further, either. But remember all the boyish fun had by the players celebrating those 13 walk-off wins this season? Remember the magician, petting zoo, onesie pajamas and other wacky events Maddon used to keep the players loose? Remember Anthony Rizzo climbing onto the wall and leaping in the stands to make a catch? Remember Bryant homers bouncing off the video screen? Remember Arietta's no-hitter? Remember Addison Russell's defensive gems? Remember the pure joy of a team that won 97 games? Those memories should warm our hearts until April 4, when the Cubs open on the road against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
There will be no World Series ring ceremony at the Cubs home opener in Wrigley Field on Monday night, April 11. But fans will cheer. We will expect good things in 2016, and beyond. And Maddon will make it fun.
“I think he is the best manager we've had in my whole lifetime,” says Haupt, who adds that his girlfriend, Josephine, whom he met during his Wrigley Field training, bought him a Maddon bobblehead. “I think he drinks the same thing I drink, too.”
Instead of drowning our sorrows, Cubs fans can raise a glass to a very enjoyable season. We'll give our annual toast, but this time we'll actually mean it — “Wait 'Til Next Year.”