And just like that, it's over...

"The length of the season and the quickness it can
end is a slap in the face."
– Mike Greenberg

A $118 million payroll. An MVP Japanese import. 7 All-Stars. 97 wins. 6 runs in the NLDS. And just like that, the season is over.

Fans couldn't help but feel that this year was supposed to be different. The Cubs hadn't lost 3 games in a row until June 19. They only lost 4 or more consecutive games twice all season. They were swept only 3 times all year. For the first time in a while, the Cubs were giving fans reason to believe in them. And even more than usual, we did. This felt like it could be it. It was the 100th year anniversary of the last World Series win. The Cubs had a team of All-Stars. They were almost unbeatable at home. They finished with the best record in the National League. This year, those signs at Wrigley felt like they could be turning into reality. Why Not Us? It's Gonna Happen! Then just like that, this year ended like the previous 100, in utter disappointment.

So Cubs fans do what anyone does when they've lost something they've invested so much into. We grieve. And as well all know, there are 5 gut wrenching stages of grief.

1. Denial - Did Ryan Dempster really walk 7 batters in 4 2/3 innings after walking 7 in all of September? Did he really walk the bases loaded, then give up a homerun to a hitter who was averaging a homerun every 50 plate appearances? Did all the Cubs infielders really make errors in game 2? Did the Cubs really lose the first two games, 17-5 at home after having by far the best run differential in the National League? These are only a few of the questions that Cubs fan has been asking themselves over and over.

2. Anger - No Cubs fan could not help but be angry. Whether you've been a Cubs fan for 50 years, 25 years or 1 year. To see the season end as quickly as it did was infuriating. To follow a team everyday for 8 months of the year and have them go down without a fight is the worst thing that could've happened. If they were just going to roll over, they shouldn't have even played this season. If they were going to break our hearts, they should have done it in April or May, not now. How could they let us down like this?

3. Bargaining - I mean, there has to be a reason that the best team in the National League lost, right? Sometimes, the best team doesn't win in the playoffs. Look at the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006. No one thought they would win a game in the playoffs, and they won it all. Or the 2001 Seattle Mariners, they won 116 games and lost in the ALCS. 116 wins! Maybe our team just wasn't built for a short series. Maybe the nerves just got to us. Maybe we weren't meant to win.

4. Depression - There was a "memorial" for the team outside of Wrigley Field after the sweep. Several Cubs fans are selling their loyalty on Ebay and offering to burn all of their apparel and memorabilia. But for this, I'll just post this depressing letter from Mark DeRosa's blog from a heartbroken Cubs fan:

Mark,
I wonder, this morning, if we (the fans) don't owe you (the players) an apology. It seemed clear from the expressions and the body language that you guys were not having a whole lot of fun out there. We robbed you guys of the simple joy of playing a baseball game. We asked for too much. We turned winning a baseball game into something that it is not...a source of omnipotent happiness or redemption or glory...and many were cruel and divisive when they didn't get what they wanted. I am sorry.
I wonder if this thing has gotten too big, if 100 years of hope and heartbreak for untold millions has become a burden too great for 25 mere mortals to shoulder. I fear that the Cubs are doomed to failure. In a strange way I am okay with that. After all, I have been a Cubs fan for as long as I can remember. I can no more change that about myself than I can change my blood type. And the lessons that I have
learned from my relationship with the Cubs...about faith, and love and loss and perseverance and hope...are more important than winning a baseball game, or 11 baseball games, could ever be.

And finally...

5. Acceptance - This significantly varies from fan to fan. Some have already accepted the loss, while it may take some until the first pitch of the 2009 season. And then there are the few that will never accept it. But for the most part, everyone will. We always do. We did after Alex Gonzalez's booted grounder in 2003. We did it 2004, after the Cubs choked away a 2.5 game lead in the Wild Card with 9 games left. We even did it back in 1984 when Leon Durham let a ball go through his legs in Game 5 of the NLCS. And the older fans did it when the Cubs got blown out at home in Game 7 of the World Series. Many fans have invested so much time and effort to just give up hope now. Some day it will eventually happen, it has to. And no fan wants to have given up before that happens. Because when it does happen, the feeling with be indescribable, and all fans want that experience. Maybe every year that they don't win, will make a World Series win that much sweeter. You have to experience pain to appreciate pleasure. And once we accept the pain of this year, we'll continue to hope that next year will bring us that indescribable pleasure.