Better than season tickets to Wrigley Field, this behind-the-scenes, vibrant, entertaining chronicle of the Chicago Cubs’ 2004 season (as well a retelling of one of the most interesting histories in baseball) takes readers into the clubhouse, onto the field, and into the nostalgic richness of the team that epitomizes pure baseball. The Chicago Cubs inspire a rare kind of devotion, a never-give-up, wait-till-next-year enthusiasm undiminished by ninety-five years without a World Series victory. In this thrilling day-to-day account of the 2004 season, celebrated sportswriter Gene Wojciechowski captures the indelible spirit of a team—and its astounding fans. With full access to players, coaches, front-office personnel, groundskeepers, and almost everyone else connected to the franchise, Wojciechowski opens the door and presents an inside perspective that all baseball fans will relish. From Ernie Banks, the legendary “Mr. Cub,” to Sammy Sosa, today’s record-setting sensation, CUBS NATION traces the history of a team that often had everything going for it and yet was so hampered by losses that it came to define the term “lovable losers.” Wojciechowski conjures up the classic ivy-covered stadium, its fabled manual scoreboard, and the ”ballhawks” who have caught literally thousands of home-run balls on the streets alongside Wrigley. In a wonderful blend of exciting moment-by-moment reporting, revealing interviews, and nostalgic vignettes, Wojciechowski pulls back the curtain to uncover the fascinating inner workings of a storied Major League Baseball team—and he shows why the Cubs stand for everything that is good about baseball, win or lose. In 2003 the Chicago Cubs almost ended a 50-plus year World Series. With the Cubs poised to shed the "lovable losers" tag in 2004, journalist Wojciechowski, a lifetime Cubs fan, set himself up in an apartment near Wrigley Field to chronicle the season that, as it turned out, wasn't what he had expected. The team was beset with injuries and controversies, and the St. Louis Cardinals ran away with the division. But, as the title states, there were plenty of sidebar stories to tell. Wojciechowski interviewed more than 200 people connected with the Cubs, including players, team officials, and fans. Two sandouts are Paul Rathje, who, in his role as stadium chief, speaks of Wrigley Field like a father would of a successful son, and Billy Corgan, lead singer of the rock group Smashing Pumpkins, who offers a refreshingly "everyman" perspective on citizenship in "Cub Nation." There are plenty of cool baseball anecdotes here, but this revels in the nature of fandom more than in screaming line drives to right field. Given the Cubs' national appeal, expect demand in every market. Wes Lukowsky Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “Funny, deep, sentimental, achingly researched, richly written. This is the agony and ecstasy of Cubdom, served up in 162 delicious packages. How he got all this stuff I’ll never know, but every blue-souled Cubbie will be glad he did. From now on, anytime somebody asks them, ‘Why in the WORLD are you a Cubs fan?’ they can simply say, ‘Read this.’” —Rick Reilly, author of Who’s Your Caddy? “Gene Wojciechowski reminds you that while Cubs baseball games may be played on the patch of earth framed by streets named Addison, Waveland, Clark, and Sheffield, Cubs baseball actually lives in the hearts and souls of the most loyal, colorful, and resilient fan constituency baseball has ever known. At the end, you want 162 more stories, and you want Wojciechowski to tell every one.” —Mike Vaccaro, author of Emperors and Idiots: The Hundred Year Rivalry Between the Yankees and Red Sox, from the Very Beginning to the End of the Curse The Chicago Cubs inspire a rare kind of devotion, a never-give-up, wait-'till-next-year enthusiasm undiminished by ninety-five years without a World Series victory. In this thrilling day-to-day account of the 2004 season, ESPN The Magazine sportswriter Gene Wojciechowski captures this indelible spirit. With full access to players, coaches, front-office personnel, groundskeepers, and almost everyone else connected to the franchise, Wojciechowski opens the door and presents an inside perspective that all baseball fans will relish. From Ernie Banks, the legendary "Mr. Cub," to Sammy Sosa, today's record-setting sensation, CUBS NATION traces the history of a team that often had everything going for it and yet was so hampered by losses that it came to define the term "lovable losers." Like the equally ill-fated Red Sox and their "Curse of the Bambino," the Cubs carry a curse of their own—"The Curse of the Billy Goat," imposed in the 1950s by an angry fan who was ejected for bringing his goat to the stadium. Wojciechowski conjures up the classic ivy-covered stadium with its fabled manual scoreboard, and in a wonderful blend of exciting moment-by-moment reporting, revealing interviews, and nostalgic vignett