Photo by -EMR- on Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons.

If you look over the right field wall at Wrigley Field–past the collection of drunk bleacher fans yelling “Fukudome”–there’s a small sign mounted on an overlooking apartment. It reads “AC006299,” a seemingly-jumbled bunch of letters and numbers that have no meaning outside of Cubs baseball. AC stands for Anno Catuli, which roughly translates to “Year of the Cub” from Latin. But the numbers are what make this sign significant: 00 years since the Cubs’s last division title, 62 years since their last NL pennant and 99 years since their last World Series title. They are an everlasting reminder of the Cubs’s futility and close calls over the last century. But the numbers are also a sign of hope that one year, maybe even this season, that sign will read “AC000000.” And with the best record in the NL, there haven’t been higher expectations on the North Side since a young man named Prior was pitching Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS.

Sports fans love to rally around an underdog. And there may be no better example of an underdog in sports than the Chicago Cubs. Their collapses and curses are well-documented, easily identified by single phrases like “Billy Goat”, “Leon Durham”, and of course, “Bartman.” The Cubs not only fail, but fail tragically and dramatically. The Red Sox and White Sox’s recent post-season runs have left the Cubs as the last remaining cursed franchise in baseball. But without the Cubs, baseball will no longer have its poster child for agonizing defeat and that would be a real loss.

People are enthralled by sports because of the unbelievable moments and story lines that its fast paced competition delivers. There’s always the hope that you will see something historic, memorable and amazing; a play, a win, or a catch that you will remember forever. And there’s no better storyline in sports than the Chicago Cubs and their quest for an elusive World Series ring. This type of thing comes along once in a century–literally–and that’s why the Cubs have to lose.

There’s simply no substitute for the drama of one hundred years of pain and suffering. Sure, the Cleveland Indians have gone 60 years without a World Series but what makes them compelling besides overt racism? We could turn our sympathies to the Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres and even the Texas Rangers, all franchises who’ve never even come close to a World Series ring. But their histories are all far too short. These franchises weren’t in existence the last time the Cubs even went to the World Series! It simply is not fair to sports fans to ceremoniously end the greatest theater production of our time when there are so many more acts that should be played out.

For every fan, there is an emotional connection to their team; but for Cubs fans, their relationship with the franchise is just as much about the team’s history as the nine players it fields every afternoon. It’s Wrigley Field and the ivy, it’s the “W” flag, it’s Harry Caray and it’s the idea that no matter what, “there’s always next year.” Of all the Cubs fans, 99.9 percent have never seen their team at a World Series championship. They’ve never tasted success and therefore, failure is a part of their identity as fans. They are tied to the curse because it is all that they have known for their entire Cubs lives. In a sense, it is an essential part of their fanhood, which cannot be removed without consequence. With the curse, every new season breeds a renewed sense of urgency and optimism among their supporters. This has to be the year because of a, b, and c — this is our year.

But championships too often bring about complacency. Will fans care if the Cubs don’t win 60 games the year after their World Series title? Will they still have that same thirst for another World Series title once they’ve already gotten one, or will it take another long drought for them to start yearning for that next ring? We don’t want Cubs fans to turn from the loyal, eternally optimistic, need-to-drink-Old-Style-because-it’s-been-99-years-of-losing fanatics they are now and become a contented, bandwagon-jumping bunch who, as Cardinals fans would say, need to get a job.

The people who operate that little sign–which has seen every Cubs home game since 1995–add a year to the last two numbers every season the Cubs don’t win the World Series. And this year, if the Cubs fail once more to come through and win it all, a third digit would be added to accommodate history. But this will signify more than being the first team in sports history to go 100 years without a championship. It’ll mean that the Cubs will still be the team we call the “Lovable Losers”, the team that people most want to see win the big one and the team that continues to live by the most optimistic of their fans’ sayings, “There’s always next year.” And for baseball, that’s a good thing.