With almost a week to set in, it’s time to ask the question.
Who had the worse week last week? The Chicago Cubs or the Vegas Golden Knights?
It’s hard to be wrong with either answer. Two teams bent on self-destruction, attempting to lose their status as the beloved ones in two increasingly crowded sports markets.
In short, they both screwed up.
For the Cubs, it only took 108 years to put together a team worthy of winning a World Series. And less than two days to dismantle it.
I understand luxury taxes. I understand salary increases. I understand free agency. I also understand how Cubs tickets start at $45 and go up for lesser opponents, and start at $100 and go up for more desirable games. Those aren’t resale prices, those are face value.
Gone were Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, and Anthony Rizzo. The three players on my Cubs iPhone case. The face of the franchise gone, the face of my iPhone gone as well.
And it didn’t stop there. By the time the carnage was done, this roster looked more like the Iowa Cubs.
In a baseball saturated market, the Ricketts family is risking losing the team’s status as the lovable Cubbies. For one thing, once you win, you can’t ever be lovable losers again. It’s just the way it works. That’s why Boston was smart enough to stay on top for several years once they climbed that mountain.
It’s especially tough when that team six miles to your south, the White Sox, are in first place. And they offer ticket deals such as $25 for a ticket and two beers. Parking at Wrigley Field runs higher than that.
Throw in competition from minor league teams Chicago, Windy City, Kane County, Schaumburg, Joliet, and Gary, and this is a crowded market.
The Cubs may not be lovable losers anymore, but sadly, they’ll likely be at least half of that for the coming seasons.
Meanwhile in Vegas, the face of the franchise, and the face of another one of my iPhone covers (I realize I have too many, it’s an addiction) was traded to, ironically, Chicago. But Marc-Andre Fleury IS the Vegas Golden Knights. He is the first superstar, the face of the franchise, the fans’ favorite player.
Truth is, you could see this coming with the signing of Robin Lehner, and even the big money offered to Alex Pietroangelo last off season. But sports is about more than just winning or dollars and cents. It’s about emotion. That’s why the return of sports has been so key at the end of this pandemic.
To make things worse, another fan favorite, Ryan Reaves, was sent to the New York Rangers for a third round pick a couple of days later. Keeping Reaves would have been a nice gesture to an already irritated fan base.
Not to mention, Vegas is facing a crowded market. In 2017, they were the only major pro team in Vegas. But the NFL and WNBA have come to town, MLS is on the way, and MLB might just be headed there as well. What once was a pro sports desert is becoming saturated.
It’s not the time to annoy the fans.
In the end, which team had the worse week? It depends on your perspective. But if you’re a fan of the Cubs or the Knights, the odds are you are a little less excited about the future than you were two weeks ago.
