It’s a little hard not to focus on the negative stuff when we look back on another year of the pandemic. Everything still feels so fraught, and we’ve reached the point where remembering the “before” is getting a little fuzzy. Oh, and then baseball locked out the players, the Bears flopped, the Blackhawks stopped playing games, and the Bulls … well, OK, actually, things are still going well for the Bulls.
There were positives, though. I found a lot of stupid joy in this year of baseball, even as the Cubs foundered and traded away so many of the players to whom we’d become so emotionally connected. I loved the two and a half months when it seemed like the Cubs might actually compete (that Padres series was incredible!). I loved the surprise breakouts. I loved rumor season. I loved having the minor leagues back. I loved doing the Blogathon again!
And the personal positives. I stayed reasonably healthy, as did my family. The kids were able to start living something remotely resembling a normal life again. You all kept coming here and reading what we do, jawing in the comments, and generally supporting this place. It doesn’t work without you. We all tried to make the most of the year, and I truly thank you for it.
It also doesn’t work without the great crew that not only writes the lovely things you see here, but also does so much behind the scenes to make this clock tick. To Michael, Luis, Eli, Mario, Patrick, and Bryan: thank you. I couldn’t ask for a better group to work with.
To all of you, to all of your families: I wish you a safe and joyful transition to the new year, and I wish that 2022 brings you blessings and opportunities that 2021 did not. Oh, also: a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Swiftly. Please.