The curse reappears as Cubs lose again
by Shannon Harrison, Reporter

   Last Tuesday night, I was beginning to smell that wonderful aroma of sweet victory that about a million other people and    I haven’t smelled in a long time, meaning we Cub fans. Then low and behold, the eighth inning arrived, and the curse took hold of the game, this time disguised as a fan.
   I have been a Cubs fan for as long as I can remember. I have wonderful memories of watching game after game with my grandfather. Every year was the same: the Cubs would lose. And every year, we die-hard fans would bring a little hope into the season—only to be shot down. My grandfather did not get to see them make it this far in his lifetime, but I had the opportunity that he didn’t, and I didn’t want to lose it.
   My friends and I were at our favorite pub watching our favorite team lead the Marlins. With glee, we knew Tuesday was the night we had been waiting for. The crowd was going crazy at Wrigley, and we all belted out the famous “Take    Me out to the Ballgame” with fond memories of Harry Carrey in the back of our minds.
   With only five more outs to go until our long-awaited fantasy of the Cubs’ emerging to the World Series, a fly ball was hit to left field. Of course, my man Alou was on it, but to our dismay, one of our very own went for the ball, causing that wonderful would-be out not to happen.
   What happened after that was chaos. The shortstop missed a play, and the Marlins were hitting the ball everywhere. To our utter shock, we were down by five.
   Okay, the Cubs have hit a lot in one inning. Being die-hards we still had hope. They just had to win on this night; we did not want to have to go to game seven. However, three up ... three down ... game over.
    I usually do not place blame on people, but this fan—not a Marlins fan—but a Cubs fan, ruined what could have been the perfect night. Yes, I am bitter. I know he reacted naturally, but because of this incident, the inning turned into a complete nightmare we couldn’t wake up from.
   All he had to do was step back and let Alou catch that ball, but our curse showed no mercy.
   I’m sure the fan feels bad, considering his face was plastered all over the screen, ESPN and probably every other network on television. Not to mention that he had to be escorted out by security.
   I don’t blame the entire loss on him, but his interference caused a chain reaction there was no pulling out of, and our sure victory slipped from our grasp.
   Although I had faith they would move gracefully to the World Series to win the championship they deserve, the Cubs again lost an early lead Wednesday and the game.
   The World Series has not entered the Wrigley area since 1945; we were so close. Will my children or I ever see this happen?