What Is Sports If Not Pain?

Good things come to those who wait, unless they die first.

The Cubs’ 108-year championship drought is over, and so much of the joy and relief and disbelief in Chicago is a function of the failure and disappointment that came before. So, and this is really easy for me to say: Revel in this shit, Indians fans, as best you can. This is the hard work. The pain is the job.

That was a brutal loss. What-ifs everywhere. Why couldn’t they win just one of three games? Why did Terry Francona intentionally walk Anthony Rizzo? Why did it have to rain just as momentum was finally on your side?

The longest single-city title drought in North American pro sports now belongs to the Cleveland Indians, who have not won a World Series since 1948. (The Arizona Cardinals franchise won an NFL championship in 1947, back when they were the Chicago Cardinals.) The vast, vast majority of Indians fans have no idea what it’s like to watch their team win a title, and they do not know if they ever will, or if they’ll even get this close. This shit hurts.

Please enjoy a selection of wire photos of pained Indians fans, and thank whatever sports gods you worship that it’s not you.