Cactus League season gets under way in Valley

Devotion to a sports team may be the nearest experience to true unconditional love.

Just look at fans of the Chicago Cubs.

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This season marks the 100th anniversary of the team's last championship, a drought unmatched in the history of American professional athletics. And not since 1945 has Chicago's North Side been represented in the World Series, the longest active famine in baseball.

But do those who bleed Cubbie Blue ever regret their choice? Was their fidelity tested in 2005, when the rival White Sox stood atop the baseball world? Is the happiness felt while watching a game at "The Friendly Confines" of Wrigley Field worth the suffering?

"I'm such a dope, I love them in spite of themselves," said 92-year-old Doris Davis of Shipshewana, Ind., while watching the Cubs practice at Mesa's Fitch Park. "Whether they win or lose, I love them anyway."

And so begins the 2008 Cactus League season, when every team is a contender.

Under the warm Arizona sun, workouts for pitchers and catchers began Thursday for the Cubs, Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners. In the coming days, joining them will be the White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers.

All these teams share the same goal: a World Series title. But only the Cubs are saddled with a century's worth of history - much of it bad.

There is the infamous collapse of 1969, when Chicago blew a nine-game lead down the stretch.

"They pretty much choked," Don Klipowicz sourly recalled.

Moments before Klipowicz said that, his 5-year-old grandson, Tyler, had been given a baseball by Cubs Hall of Fame outfielder Billy Williams - he of an ugly 6-for-53 slump during the team's skid.

Then there were the 1984 playoffs, when the Cubs whiffed in three straight games with the National League pennant at stake. Five years later, Giants slugger Will Clark read the lips of Chicago's ace pitcher Greg Maddux - "fastball high, inside" - and clobbered a grand slam that hastened a quick exit from the postseason.

In 2003, it was the Bartman Game. No explanation necessary.

Those were the pains all Cubs fans shared; for every individual, there is a unique hurt. Billie Vuylsteke, 84, of Springfield, Ill., said she witnessed the Cubs play the Cardinals in St. Louis 18 times - 17 of them losses.

"It's hardly worth the trip," said Vuylsteke, wearing a hat autographed by Cubs great (Harry Caray) and small (Gary Scott).

To the players, the team's history is exactly that. Pitcher Ryan Dempster, his first day in camp, guaranteed a World Series title.

Manager Lou Piniella likes that attitude, just as he likes the team's talent. But Piniella's four decades-plus in baseball tinge his outlook with hard reality.

"I like players who are confident; I really do," Piniella said. "But I also know it's hard. It takes a lot of work, it takes a lot of talent, it takes some luck."

It takes a certain personality trait, according to Vuylsteke, to be a Cubs fan.

Masochism?

"No, patience," Vuylsteke replied.

But how much patience does a Cubs fan need? Apparently, not until death will they part.

While working at a small souvenir stand, 74-year-old Jim Vodvarka spoke for many: "I hope before they plant me, we go to the World Series."

As Tyler sat on the cement and played with the ball, his father, Scott, asked him whether he now was a Cubs fan.

Tyler remained silent.

A nearby woman turned to Don Klipowicz and said, "You have a smart grandson."