I have a confession to make. For the last couple of months, I’ve been selling confidence in our Cubs. “They won’t blow it,” I insisted. “These aren’t your father’s Cubs,” I encouraged. “These are the Anti-Cubs,” I professed.

But I had my doubts. Last week alone, my daily emotions ran from, “They’re going to do it!”; to “They’re going to blow it!”; to, “Oh, God, this is going to be painful.”

I do admit to a strange sense of calm during the actual games. Somewhere along the line, I stopped waiting for the roof to fall in. The Franchise will do that for you.

Yesterday morning I allowed myself to daydream about the perfect scenario. Mark Prior pantses the Pirates in game one. The great Wes Obermueller proves too tough for the Astros. Matt Clement girds up his loins, takes the field of battle and that four dollar bottle of champagne I bought could be put to good use.

This morning, I woke up and wondered aloud, “Did that really happen?”

It did. Every sweet assed moment of it.

Who knew?

I’d like to say that I did.

But I didn’t.

In January, Desipio Senior Correspondent Mike Dolan and I got to meet Dusty Baker, up close and personal at the Cubs Convention. I wrote in this very space that I was worried, because Dusty proved to me in three short days, that if he couldn’t win it all in Chicago, nobody could.

Not so worried any more.

They’re an odd lot, these 2003 National League Central Division Champions. At times they’re the ugliest of winners. At times they’re a sight to behold. Yesterday, they were prettier than a three dollar whore.

Has there ever been another Cubs team that would have seized the moment like that? Has there ever been another Cubs team that would have given us one day of pure joy? Yesterday was perfect.

And the best part:

Yesterday was just the start.

Do you want to know why the Astros and Cardinals have been so frustrated by these Cubs this year? Because they know what we can hardly allow ourselves to believe. This is just the first good Cubs team in what promises to be a long run of them.

What happens in St. Louis or Houston or in all those south side trailer parks if the Cubs push the timetable up and win the damn pennant this year?

We’ve got almost a century of bad luck, dumb moves and agony stored up. We’re about to release it to a scale that will create a new species of sports fan.

The cocky, smug, spoiled by success Cubs fan.

I for one, can hardly wait to become one.

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There were a lot of moments yesterday that will be burned into our memories forever. For me, the one I’ll never forget was the shot of Cubs President Andy MacPhail in his skybox watching Randall Simon drop a hurried throw from Mark Grudzielanek that would have ended game one.

Andy leapt to his feet and yelled, “Yes! No! Shit!”

I also enjoyed seeing him in that trucker baseball cap in the clubhouse.

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Anybody else notice how Matt Clement’s groin seemed to magically heal himself when he got that six run lead? He could barely bend over to get the rosin bag in the first inning, but after the five run second he was hopping up and down after pitches, swinging for the fences at the plate and generally looking like a guy who would wrap both legs around the back of his head if he needed to.

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The Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus sang the national anthem before the first game. Isn’t that kind of redundant in Wrigleyville? I always thought the Gay Men’s Chorus was the left field bleachers.

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Today we turn things over to Ron Santo. He gets his day in the sun (or the cloudy or whatever it’s doing out there) and he deserves it. He deserves to bask in the glow of a championship season, he deserves to see them run his flag up the flagpole. He deserves to be cheered and loved and adored. He also deserves a better hairpiece, but we’ll just start with the baby steps.

Only in sports can a manly man tell you he loves you. Only in sports do I profess a healthy man love for Carlos Zambrano and E-ramis Ramirez and of course, my longtime flame Samuel Peralta Sosa. But in the manliest of all ways, from one guy who never actually saw him play..I love Ron Santo anyway.

And I love pretty girls with nice racks, but in a different kind of way. But, that’s beside the point.

When the Astros left the door open a little bit, the Cubs ran through it and then slammed it shut.

Rick Morrissey says that when we said “Wait Until Next Year” last year, we meant it. Who knew?

Mike Downey picked a good year to come back to town.

Finally, a reason to like Todd Hundley.

Bob Verdi has seen a lot of bad baseball. This year, did not add to that pile.

Paul Sullivan tries to narrow it down to ten things that made the Cubs.

Mariotti puts down the doughnut and almost seems happy. Almost.

Oh, by the way, those mighty fighting Huskies of NIU are now 4-0.

Tony Pierce is enjoying this all from afar. Hey, Tony, say thanks to Todd Hundley when you see him.

Deal with it America, the Cubs are winners.

This just in: The Franchise? He’s good.

When the Cubs knock off the Braves, you’ll have one man to thank. Matt Clement. Huh?

What does the Desipio GameCast schedule look like for the first round of the playoffs? It looks a lot like this. Just figure that Desipio will be there whenever the Cubs are. Who knew that last year was just practice for the real thing?

We leave you today with this: