Although 1998’s home run stretch was a great year for baseball, nothing compares to the baseball fan attitude of this year. Seeing two teams with long-term losing streaks, the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox, have a chance at the World Series has been a bumpy but interesting ride.

Along the way, they have regained old fans who had turned their backs on the Cubs, picked up new fans who weren’t previously interested in baseball at all, and have strengthened the faith of original fans. The Cubs represent not only the city of Chicago, but also most of the Midwest. The Cubs’ presence in the playoffs means a lot of people are watching baseball. It seems that for the first time in years, baseball has made itself recognized.

Although the “maybe next year” will be repeated again this year for Cubs fans, the number of people who were brought back to the sport through this series was well worth the struggle. My roommates and I actually had a discussion about baseball — without the presence of men — after Wednesday’s incident . This is something Major League Baseball should be proud of.

I’m just sorry the safety of one fan had to be risked for this to happen. The incident (a fan reached over the wall to catch a foul ball, not seeing Moises Alou easily had a catch) brought confusion and anger to a lot of fans. Putting the blame of decades of losses and any hope for a win this year into a few seconds and the cupped hands of one fan’s miscalculated reach seems unfair.ÿAfter all, heartache should be expected in Wrigley Field.

Not until this past month have I understood the distress of a Cubs fan. Nor have I ever watched baseball until now. My only association with the sport was when I played T-ball in fourth and fifth grades.

Baseball has never been my sport of choice. Give me football, basketball, volleyball, hockey, curling — anything but baseball. But the past month or more, spending time with my boyfriend, a long-time Cubs fan, also meant spending time with the Cubs. After I was given dirty looks for all my baseball questions any time a play was called, an amazing thing happened! I have actually found that baseball isn’t so painful after all. I’m not saying I love the sport, but it is now tolerable by my standards.

I think my views on baseball are typical of most women. We need some sort of inspiration before we’ll even consider watching a baseball game. I can only guess on the reasons for our lack of interest — the players’ pants aren’t tight enough, we are trying to steer clear of the ballpark franks, confusing scoring, lack of cheerleaders to compare ourselves to or make fun of, not enough action, or the ridiculous number of games they play. Most of us don’t give baseball a second thought during a regular season. We would rather scrub the floors with our freshly manicured fingernails than watch a baseball game.

But for some reason, I have seen an increase in the number of female baseball viewers lately. The game suddenly seemed more exciting, more intense. When two teams that haven’t won the World Series since our grandparents were born are finally playing well in the playoffs, emotions are a little higher. Their “maybe next years” were thought to be finally coming true. Of course this added an extreme amount of emotion during the playoffs, and when emotions are high for any team it lends a huge possibility of disappointment.

Who knows what next year might bring. Another playoff season like this one and baseball might once again be the American pastime it once was. As long as there are Cubs fans holding on to the hope that one of these years the Cubs will make it all the way, baseball will still be alive.

From someone who knows very little about baseball, I think the Cubs stand a good chance of doing well next year. For the most part, I saw a good team out there making some great plays. No team can completely turn a streak around in one year.

If it doesn’t happen next year, there’s always the year after that.