“Under His Ribs, the Heart of the People”
If you asked me why I love Chicago, I suppose there are various replies I could come up with. For example, Chicago dogs are genius. Also, there is something about a city in the middle of a nation filled with corn and flatlands to be seated in the curve of a beautiful fresh-water ocean, teeming with vast history yet always on the verge of what is happening now. But above all, I believe that the true reason I love Chicago lies in the beauty of the people live there, the endless enthusiasm and contagious fervent attitude that thrives behind every representation of Chicago like some sort of battle cry that claims, “Yes! Yes, we are strong, and cunning, and brilliant and brave! We will fight for nothing less than what we deserve, we will give back to those who do not believe in us nothing more than what they deserve as well! This is Chicago, this is our spirit, this is an endless fight!” I see it in the history of a city that rebuilt itself bigger and better the second time around, a city famous for social justice, for crime and entertainment, for being home to incredible artists and sparking inspiration in the minds of artists who are not from this city. The spirit of Chicago is unlike anything I have experienced, and it is a magnet that draws me in.
But how can we see this now? Chicago is so diverse — wouldn’t it be impossible to say that something is universal here? That something belongs to Chicago alone? And to this I say one thing: FLY THE W. Since my arrival in Chicago, I have noticed a definite thing about people who are from here and that is either you are a Cubs fan, or you are a Sox fan, and you defend that team vehemently. However, after this weekend it seemed to matter less about which side you rooted for because THE CUBS ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 71 YEARS.
Let’s take a moment to put that into perspective.
The last time the Cubs went to the World Series, John Lennon was 5 years old.
A loaf of bread was 9 cents.
Minimum wage was .40 cents per hour.
And a month before the Cubs played, Japan had surrendered in WWII.
The world has changed immensely since the last time the Cubs played, but it seems that the spirit of Chicago has not. There have posts on Facebook from Chicago natives who are claiming to back the Cubs for the World Series regardless of their love for the Sox. Even President Obama tweeted:
“I’ll say it: Holy Cow @Cubs fans. Even this White Sox fan was happy to see Wrigley rocking last night. #FlytheW”
And there is that famous line, the one that to me seems to sum up the spirit of Chicago in one simple, modern phrase. Previously, before completeing some research, I was under the impression that the ‘W’ simply meant Wrigley field. Perhaps this may also be part of what it means, but it something that started in the early 1900’s, when workers at Wrigley would hoist up a white flag with a blue W on it if the Cubs win, or a blue flag with a white L if they lost to notify people walking past or riding the train of the game’s outcome. But despite the background, I believe that the phrase is something that succeeds not only in encouraging a Chicago team, but also in uniting citizens of all different backgrounds to come together and support one team — especially when they are representing our city at the World Series.
So this weekend, with Chicago all in a fluster about the Cubs going to the World Series, I decided to Follow the W, to see who is supporting Fly the W, to see how connected all of Chicago can really become.
This was the first thing I saw, the night it became official that the Cubs were going to the World Series. It is not Fly the W, but in the sense of the Chicago spirit it was a public and blatant support for the Chicago team. Furthermore, this isn’t just a flag or poster in the window of someone’s home — this is on the side of a building, something that took time and effort by employees of a business to set up simply to show the city their love for their team. To me, this gesture, along with the lighting of the tops of buildings, is nothing short of an extension of the Chicago spirit because it gives back to the people what the people are giving to the Cubs: Confidence.
This picture was taken from the lakeshore bike trail, just a little bit north of the museum campus, and this was the probably the farthest away from the north side of Chicago that I went. That being said, I find it intriguing to know just how widespread Fly the W is. Of course, everyone has the right to like whatever teams they like, but it is typical for people in certain regions to like certain team. I remember distinctly a night outside of Clifton, where a fire drill was taking place. My friends and I sat on a bench, and one of them (a Chicago native from suburbs on the south side) was wearing a Sox hat. A firemn standing by called out, “Sox fan, huh? You a southside girl?” It was, in fact, true, and this correlation came as a funny shock to me. The same goes for the POTUS, who lived on the south side of Chicago and is, as he tweeted, a Sox fan. But that’s why, as I travelled across the city following the W, it was always a sheer excitement to see it all over, to see posts about it from Sox fans, to watch as the city of Chicago began to embrace the success of one of its teams despite their preferences because that is what Chicago does — stand up for itself, head held high.
This picture (taken in Lincoln Park) represents something about the W that I had not realized was relevant before doing research. Apparently, although Fly(ing) the W shows support for the Cubs after a win, it also comes with certain rules. In this example, the W being hung sideways to look like and E is only allowed when the Cubs have lost (which, depending on which day I took this — I can’t remember — that could be possible) representing the word ‘Error’. Other rules include not having a W flag or poster hanging off-season — according to superstitious fans those who do are the exact reason the Cubs have not been to the World Series in so long — and hanging a W flag up for the entire off-season if the Cubs win the World Series (fingers crossed). Although the rules for flying the W are probably not as strictly followed by majority of the public, it is no doubt still a tradition to fly the W to show support.
The three previous pictures are all of restaurants or stores that decided to show their support for the Cubs going to the World Series. As you can see in the first picture, even the bar that supports other teams chose to fly the W, revealing once again that this sign represents something more than just a win for the Cubs, and is nothing short of a success for Chicago. Furthermore, the restaurants who do fly the W seem to reflect more about the neighborhood they are located in. For example, all three of these photos were taken in Lincoln Park, reflecting a typical north side neighborhood who is known for having a lot of Cubs supporters. More than just uniting people, using the W is probably an easy enterprise for bars to use to gain customers who want to gather, drink, eat, and watch the Cubs.
This picture certainly represents the type of effect the tradition of the W might have on a family. Maybe it’s not a family who lives here, but I like to believe that some of the people who grow up here grow up loving the teams they love because it is a family tradition, because it represents the city they love and the excitement of supporting something that represents a piece of you. I think that this is why anyone supports their home teams, because it is another version of themselves — though distant — and there is an excitment in backing them thoroughly.
With that being said, there is much about Chicago that thrives on the heart of the Chicago spirit, but baseball is probably one of the most prominent points. I’m not a huge athlete (shocker), but I have a love for sports when they are this deep-rooted by fans. I remember one of my favorite moments of being here was a night when I was out to dinner with some friends (Chicago natives) and right when I said the words, “Hey, aren’t the Cubs curse — ” I was immediately cut off by a loud SHHHH from one of my friends. “We don’t talk about the curse in public,” a friend explained on the train-ride home. “But all you need to know is that it has to do with a guy who wanted to bring his goat inside Wrigley field.”
Here is an example of just how serious some fans are.
I think that it are all of these things — the little histories, the blatant support, the blind courage, the irrefutable confidence, the superstitions, the playful rivalry in a city built on comraderie — that build up the spirit of Chicago. It is something that I believe was born the moment the city was born, changing only with the times but never losing the fire of passion for a city, as Carl Sandburg’s famous poem “Chicago” states, is “so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning”. The spirit of Chicago is contagious, and I think I might have caught it.
