Doug Bruno should have been dismayed to see me walk into the gym.
I blame my father for this situation. He had two faults as a parent: he taught me to be loyal, and he loves the Cubs. I developed similar values.
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But enough about the Cubs—no need to touch that matter until a few months from now, when they’re squaring off with my second-favorite baseball team, the Kansas City Royals, in the 2012 World Series. I can almost see it now . . .
Unfortunately, my allegiance to losers doesn’t end with baseball, since I went to college at Northwestern. Shocking as it may seem, my reasons had nothing to do with athletics. Still, I am true to my school, though the football team hasn’t won a bowl game since 1945 and the basketball team has never made the NCAA tournament.
Yet Bruno is a fine coach, and the Demons were 15-4 and ranked number 21 when they hosted powerhouse UConn on January 21. The gym was sold out, the band was rocking, the fans were clad in blue and ready to cheer their resilient squad to a spirited upset.
While we’re on the subject of basketball, there is some truly good news: last month Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Park District announced that they’re going to spend $25 million renovating a hundred outdoor basketball courts by August. Overseeing the effort will be former Bulls and University of Iowa guard B.J. Armstrong.
