The Economist's Prospero blog piles on the Cubs after attending the Crosstown Classic last week:
Teams like the Cubs give people a safe space in which to lose. Fans get the benefits of commiseration without incurring any real costs. The predictable losers also allow other teams to win. So really the Sox fans should be grateful for the Cubs. Such losers may not be so lovable on scrutiny, but their ineptitude has an extra civic function: they take one for the team. They’re a sacrifice fly.
And on the Fourth of July, yet! Limey bastahd.
He may have a point, though.