Even though it was never among my favorite Doors’ tunes, I can’t stop thinking about The End. And I don’t think I’m experiencing the baseball melancholy of my youth as a Cubs fan.

Due to my current work schedule, I didn’t attend yesterday’s Marlins-Cubs game at Wrigley and despite not attending tons of ML games this year, yesterday’s Wrigley finale jarred me a little. As a kid, I never attended a Cubs season finale at Wrigley that mattered. While I don’t recall the specifics of any of the games, I do remember walking away from the ballpark with Dad on a Sunday afternoon bemoaning the end of another season. Usually there wasn’t much hope for improvement the following season, but that didn’t stop me from thinking their fate could change in the course of a few months.

As I’ve become more realistic/critical, I realize yesterday’s postgame euphoria about clinching a postseason spot, was all about the fans-at least I hope so. Without getting into the pathetic way the Cubs finally salvaged a game from the lowly Marlins, I know that yesterday could have been the last day of the year (or for a long time) that the fans will be at Wrigley connecting with their favorite players and team.

And why I say it was about the fans is because we’ve been riding this six-month long rollercoaster ride. It seems like everyone but the team forgot that the Cubs were predicted to win the division convincingly and by winning 90+ wins at a minimum. The Brewers were deemed a pesky afterthought. Even the guys calling the games (who should know better) have been glossing over Milwaukee’s recent superiority. The Cubs have to win their last two games against the Red Sox to reach 90 wins.

I don’t think anyone at the game yesterday considered the possibility of a lockout. Getting in the playoffs and celebrating Pete Crow-Armstrong’s MVP season and the first 40/40 season in team history. It’s rare that a fan will see something that significant in a final game of the season. Reaching that milestone at home and in front of the folks that have supported him all season is what we all dream of. This guy isn’t some schmuck who happened to put up league-leading numbers. Since I’ve been following the Cubs, they’ve had several unlikeable players who’ve led the league in various offensive categories and I don’t remember any of them getting this much love.

Originally when I was formulating this post in my head, I wanted to give the White Sox equal ink, but I’ve fallen short already. The White Sox actually clinched 3 minutes before the Cubs. They are still playing for the #2 seed in the American League. Unlike everything coming out of Clark & Addison, the Sox seem determined to continue this improbable run. In any other two-team city, the Sox would get more and better press for their accomplishment. More than being expected to win it all, the Cubs have shown a greater willingness to spend. The Sox have done more than going from worst to first. They lost more games in a single season in the past 3,000 years and have lost 100+ games in each of the last three seasons. They also beat the crap out of the Royals in Kansas City while the Cubs squeaked out a win against Miami. They still couldn’t produce with runners in scoring position.

Sox fans will have three days this weekend to show their team some love against the woebegone Colorado Rockies. The only time I ever attended a season finale for the White Sox was in 1983 when they lost Game 4 of the ALCS to the Baltimore Orioles. As I recall, nobody was really celebrating the success of the overall season.

Some local writers have had the audacity to suggest this could be the year that the two could face off in the World Series. As wacky as that sounds, we all know that city would go absolutely bonkers if that happened.

I’ve been lucky over the past twenty years that my season didn’t end with games 162 because I attended several postseason games and for 15 years, I covered the Arizona Fall League. While I’m trying to reconcile what’s going to become of the 2027 ML season, I know the distraction of the NFL won’t stir my heart. Until about two this afternoon, I didn’t realize there was an NFL game last night. Editor’s note: My fantasy team has been more explosive than the Game 1 Bears.

At the very least, my last regular season game is this Sunday when the Brewers and the Mis host the Cardinals.