Chicago's Baseball Blood Feud

The one. Written by Chicago folk legend Steve Goodman in 1984 — the year the Cubs won the NL East before the heartbreak of the NLCS against San Diego. Goodman wrote it as a genuine rallying cry, not a novelty. Simple, joyful, designed to be sung by 40,000 people at once. It works.

What makes it special is the tradition it spawned. After every Cubs win at Wrigley, the fans stay. They don’t rush for the exits. They stand in the seats while “Go Cubs Go” plays over the speakers, sing along, and fly the W. On the El platform heading home, strangers who just watched the same game keep singing it. That’s not manufactured — that grew organically over decades.

Steve Goodman died of leukemia in September 1984 — four days before the Cubs clinched the NL East. He never got to hear his song played in a pennant race. He also wrote “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request.” The man knew the Cubs.

The other Goodman masterpiece. Written three years before “Go Cubs Go,” this one is the flip side — a darkly funny, genuinely moving folk song about a lifelong Cubs fan who knows the drill. He wants his ashes scattered at Wrigley. He lists his requests in verse. He’s made peace with it.

Goodman performed it live at concerts around Chicago for years. It became a cult classic — beloved by Cubs fans precisely because it captured the truth of the thing. You love them anyway. That’s the deal.

In 2016, when the Cubs finally won it all, a lot of people thought of Steve Goodman. He’d have appreciated the timing. He also would have had notes.

Eddie Vedder — Pearl Jam frontman, die-hard Cubs fan, North Sider — wrote this one as a straight-up love letter to the Cubs. Released in 2007, it became the unofficial anthem of the team’s long wait and eventual championship. “Someday we’ll go all the way” was the kind of thing you could only write if you actually believed it.

Vedder performed it at Wrigley multiple times. When the Cubs won the 2016 World Series, this song was everywhere — in the stands, on the streets, on every Chicago radio station. Eddie Vedder cried. A lot of people cried. That was allowed.

The older generation knows this one. Written in 1969 — the year the Cubs had the best record in baseball through August and then collapsed in September in one of the most painful folds in baseball history (the Mets won the World Series that year, if you’re keeping score). “Hey Hey Holy Mackerel” was everywhere that summer when Cubs fever was at its peak.

Still gets played at Wrigley. Still sounds like 1969. That’s not a criticism.

Yes, the players recorded a song. It was 1984. Every team was doing it. The Cubs were no exception — and honestly theirs holds up better than most. “Men in Blue” came out during the magical ’84 season when the Cubs won the NL East for the first time since 1945. Ryno, Sut, The Bull, Jody, Dernier, Morales, Durham — the whole roster was in on it.

If you have the 45 single, you have a piece of Chicago baseball history. That’s not hyperbole. The ’84 Cubs were the team that made a whole generation of Cubs fans. This was their song.