While I was a graduate school student at Notre Dame, I took
advantage of numerous opportunities on weekends to make the 90-minute drive
with friends from South Bend to Chicago to watch the Cubs play at Wrigley
Field. Admittedly I have never been a Cubs fan, but watching a game at Wrigley
Field is a unique experience, and unlike being at a baseball game at any other
stadium.
Built in 1914, Wrigley Field is known for its ivy covered brick
outfield wall, hand turned scoreboard, and unusual wind patterns blowing in off
of Lake Michigan. The most recognizable image is the iconic art deco style red marquee
adorning the stadium wall directly over the main entrance with the famous
expression, "Wrigley Field, Home of Chicago Cubs.” It is the second oldest
major league stadium still in operation next to Fenway Park, and has the
distinction as the last major league park to have lights installed for play
after dark (lights were installed on 8/8/88). Prior to games you can find
dozens of fans standing outside the park on Waveland Avenue waiting for batting
practice home runs to be hit over the wall, and if you stay until the 7th
inning stretch you will be treated to the traditional singing of "Take Me
Out to the Ball Game" started by Hall of Fame announcer Harry Caray in
1982. To say that Wrigley Field is rich with tradition and history is still an
understatement.
I have watched games inside Wrigley Field from numerous
vantage points around the stadium; the bleachers, 1st base and 3rd
base lines, upper deck, and even a few rows directly behind home plate. What I
started to find interesting was that no matter where I sat, there seemed to be
a prevailing theme among a number of Cubs fans; they expected the worse. The
Cubs could be up 7 runs going into the top of the 9th inning, and
there was always at least a faction of fans who expected that somehow, someway,
the Cubs would manage to find a way to lose. This mindset was completely new to
me, as I had never experienced anything quite like it. Why did so many fans
have this attitude of pessimism, and where did it come from?
A quick look at the history of the Cubs provides a glimpse
of where a lot of this gloomy outlook stems. The Cubs are known as the “lovable
losers,” a title that is due in part to having not won a World Series since
1908. In fact, the Cubs have not even been to a World Series since 1945. It was
in game 4 of that series that the Curse of the Billy Goat was laid upon the
Cubs when P.K. Wrigley, the Cubs owner, ejected Billy Sianis, a fan who had
come to the game with two box seat tickets; one was for him and the other was
for his goat. Upon his ejection, a livid Mr. Sianis uttered, "the Cubs,
they ain't gonna win no more." The Cubs went on to lose game 4, and the
World Series in seven games. From that point forward, the Cubs experienced a
down slide, often finishing with a losing record and nowhere near contention for
a pennant. That was until 1969 when the Cubs got off to a hot start and looked
destined to have a legitimate shot at the postseason. Well, it was that way
until on September 9th in a game against the Mets at Shea Stadium. A
fan released a black cat onto the field, and the Cubs sputtered down the
stretch. To this day many fans still attribute this incident as the cause of
the subsequent collapse, an as further reinforcement of the validity of the
“curse.”
It was not until 1984 that Cubs made the postseason again,
this time against the San Diego Padres. The Cubs stormed out to a 2-0 lead in
the best of five series only to see the Padres win three straight and represent
the National League in the World Series. The painful part for Cubs fans was
that the Cubs led 3–0 in the sixth inning only to watch the game, and series,
blown on a critical error by first baseman Leon Durham. It would be nearly 20
years until the Cubs posed a serious threat as a World Series contender.
In 2003, the stars seemed to finally be aligning for the Cubs.
After winning the divisional post-season series against the Atlanta Braves, the
Cubs found themselves matched against the Florida Marlins with a trip to the
World Series on the line. The Cubs took a 3-1 series lead before dropping game
5. But the Cubs had aces Mark Prior and Kerry Wood slated to start games 6 and
7 (if necessary), both at Wrigley. The scene on that chilly October night was
electric. An estimated 200,000 packed the streets outside Wrigley Field, and
thousands more packed into local bars around the park, in anticipation of
witnessing a Cubs World Series berth. And it looked good, as the Cubs took a 3
run lead into the 8th inning, with just five outs separating them
and their first trip to the World Series since 1945. And then it happened. With
one out, a fan by the name of Steve Bartman attempted to catch a foul ball hit
by the Marlins that Cub left fielder Moisés Alou was also attempting to catch
to record the second out. Bartman knocked down the ball, Alou was infuriated
(as were most Cub fans in attendance), and the inning continued. After a walk,
an uncharacteristic a booted ground ball by Shortstop Alex S. Gonzalez occurred
that if played cleanly, could have ended the inning with a double play. It
didn’t though, and the floodgates opened. The Marlins ended up scoring eight
runs in the inning, and went on to win the game. I was in the MBA student
lounge at Notre Dame watching the events as they unfolded along with a group of
some 20 or so students. And once again, the pessimism immediately set in with
Cubs fans among us once the Bartman incident took place. And like a
self-fulfilling prophecy, the Cubs unraveled. It was one of the most
unbelievable meltdowns I had ever witnessed, and the Cub fans almost seemed to
spur it along. The Cubs still had game 7, but after taking an early lead in a
back and forth game, the Marlins prevailed and went on to win the World Series
against the New York Yankees (making it even more painful for Cub fans who
watched their team disintegrate against the eventual champion, a team they
should have beat). I hadn’t put much stock into the “curse” prior to October
14, 2003, but after witnessing everything that transpired that night I became a
believer.
I can’t help but draw a connection between the attitude of Cubs
fans expecting to lose, and the prevailing result. In my opinion, this
pessimism doesn’t just have a little to do with the results; it has EVERYTHING
to do with it. If you expect to lose, you are going to lose. A defeatist
attitude cannot generate success. This same defeatist attitude is one that I
see sometimes among job seekers. And without fail, those who expect they won’t
get the job don’t. Those who convince themselves they won’t have a chance
against the other interviewees not coincidentally end up not having a chance.
Just as some Cub fans, the more negatively job seekers think about their job
searches, the more they fail.
My advice in one word: STOP!
Talking from experience, I can tell when interviewees are
defeated. Most of the time it is worn right on their sleeves. If you walk into
an interview with little to no confidence, or expecting to not get the
position, guess what – you aren’t going to get the job. If you find yourself in
this same predicament, take steps to remedy the situation. I won’t pretend that
I have a solution that is a “cure all” for everyone; every person responds
differently to situations. What I can suggest however are some ideas from
another post that have worked for others: Join a job search support group;focus on smaller steps; seek out social activities; seek out inspiration;volunteer.
Let me share an experience I wrote about previously, but
that is highly applicable in this discussion (post here). I have a close
colleague who I met for lunch one Friday afternoon. He had been laid off from a
position as a Financial Reporting Manager for a Fortune 1000 company three
months prior, and after a long and tumultuous effort to find a new job without
success had all but thrown in the towel. It was apparent in his attitude that
the negative effects of being unemployed and not having had any success in his
job search had taken it’s toll. Instead of being confident in interviews, he
approached them with self-defeat. How could he ever expect to land a job when
he didn’t believe in himself?
His problem was not that he lacked credentials, accolades or
experience. His problem was that he was wallowing in self-pity and self-defeat.
It was as plain and easy for the interviewers to see as the words on his
resume. I tried my best to give him a motivational talk, and suggested he go to
the nearest bookstore and buy a copy of “The Power of Positive Thinking.” It
could have been any of a number of books, and by no means am I promoting that
exclusively (although I have seen many people thrive after reading it and
acting upon its precepts). I knew though he needed something that would inject
a dose of positivism into his outlook. If he was going to change his dismal
outlook on his job prospects, he needed to first change his attitude, and leave
the self-defeat behind.
On a Friday morning exactly 2 weeks later, I received a
string of texts from him on my way in to the office. That very week he had been
offered 3 jobs, and was on his way to accept one of them at that moment. He
told me he let go of every negative thing that had been holding him back, tried
to be positive, and it was as if suddenly a magnetic force was attracting
hiring managers and recruiters to him.
Magnets work because they have a magnetic field. The end
that points in the North is called the North Pole of the magnet, and the end
that points South is called the South Pole of the magnet. Like magnetic poles
repel each other, whereas unlike poles attract each other. If you are mired in
self-defeat, you’re repelling people in a position to give you a job. If your
magnet is steered in a positive direction, you will likewise see incredible
results. It may not happen overnight, or in a week, or even in a month. But if
you stay the course, it will happen, and you will be sharing your success story
with others to inspire them. And it could happen for the Cubs too, but the
defeatist attitude among some fans will have to change.
*(unfortunately at the time of posting this article, the
Cubs have started the 2012 campaign off at 4-12; dead last in terms of record
thus far in the National League, and only the Royals at 3-12 have a worse
record in all of baseball…….looks like we’ll have to wait until 2013 to break
the dreaded curse)
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