As the St. Louis Cardinals roll into Wrigley Field to face off against the powerful Chicago Cubs, one of baseball's best rivalries will be brought back to the center stage of play.
So what is it about this rivalry that makes it so good?
The roots of this rivalry are some of the most fun in baseball. It is a Midwestern rivalry, originating in geographical and territorial feuds that stretch back to the origins of professional baseball. It is part of the Midwestern culture. Much like the over-hyped Red Sox, Yankees rivalry, it is about the people who cheer for these teams more-so than its ever about the team.
No matter records and playoff hopes, this series always breeds some of the best competition the National League (and baseball) sees all year. It doesn't take the anger and over-hyped antics of the Yankees, Red Sox series, yet it still takes the lifelong fans who have lived and died with these two teams and pits them against each other in what is not only about bragging rights, but always about survival for one of the constant playoff contenders.
The Cubs represent one of America's teams, who attempted to bring fans to their numbers at a young age through things like WGN and their constant and terrible luck when it comes to playoff contention.
The Cardinals rebuttal was a TV network that stretched much over the Midwest, holding a monopoly on the West until the Dodgers found themselves in Los Angeles.
It also is about the intensive history between these clubs, ranging from 18 inning complete games, Bob Gibson and Ryne Sandbergs actions which devastated the opposing clubs. Of course, the trade for Lou Brock added an extra spark to a Cardinals club, thoroughly destroying a Cubbies team, regarded as one of the worst trades in baseball history.
Most recently, the rivalry was brought back to the center stage during the Great Home Run chase of 1998, when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa slammed themselves into the hearts and minds of sports fans worldwide, with McGwire appropriately breaking the record against the Cubs.
It is a rivalry that is aggressive, sometimes coming close to brawls, but also about two ways of life in the same area. It is about childhood memories.
While the Red Sox/ Yankees see more attention from the media, it is about big name players. It is about Manny (formerly) Ramirez, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Jason Varitek. It is about the utter hatred these two groups have for each other.
This rivalry, while certainly undignified at times, is about the closeness of locations, and their quest to be the dominant team in the Midwest. There is no rivalry in baseball like this. No New York Mets/ Atlanta Braves series, or Giants and Dodgers can even begin to compare to this. They might be fiery, but they don't compare or carry the stakes of this battle for the hearts of the midwest.
As the Cardinals walk into Wrigley, looking to make up some ground on the streaking Cubs, comparisons will be made, but not showcased. It is not going to be Albert Pujols vs. Alfonso Soriano, or Tony La Russa vs Lou Pinella. It is going to be the dominant Cubs pitching staff against the hot/cold Cardinal offense.
It is going to be one for the record books, and a sure-fire playoff preview. Get excited folks, it doesn't get much better than this rivalry.
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