The Chicago Cubs are NOT cursed! A barnyard animal has nothing to do with the team’s continued futility. There are rational and logical reasons why the Cubs have the longest championship drought of any professional sports franchise. Beyond Bartman, Curses, & Goats will take you through 104 of them…to match the 104 years it has been since the last Cubs’ World Series title in 1908. For example: • Many Cubs’ near misses such as the entire decade of the 1930s, 1945, 1969, 1984, and yes…2003. (sigh) • Years and years of poor drafting…consistently missing out on Hall of Famers and All-Stars that could have been Cubs. • The uncanny successes of Cubs’ players…after the Cubs traded them. • Poor financial decisions that had catastrophic effects on long-term success. • Historical blunders, such as having one of your young “ace” pitchers throw 141 pitches in a game…in April! If you love the Cubs, you will enjoy this analytical look at 104 years of the team’s history…and you will gain a vast knowledge of why this team continues to fail.

The Chicago Cubs are NOT cursed! A barnyard animal has nothing to do with the team’s continued futility. There are rational and logical reasons why the Cubs have the longest championship drought of any professional sports franchise. Beyond Bartman, Curses, & Goats will take you through 104 of them…to match the 104 years it has been since the last Cubs’ World Series title in 1908. For example: • Many Cubs’ near misses such as the entire decade of the 1930s, 1945, 1969, 1984, and yes…2003. (sigh) • Years and years of poor drafting…consistently missing out on Hall of Famers and All-Stars that could have been Cubs. • The uncanny successes of Cubs’ players…after the Cubs traded them. • Poor financial decisions that had catastrophic effects on long-term success. • Historical blunders, such as having one of your young “ace” pitchers throw 141 pitches in a game…in April! If you love the Cubs, you will enjoy this analytical look at 104 years of the team’s history…and you will gain a vast knowledge of why this team continues to fail.

CHRIS NEITZEL has been a teacher and coach for 23 years in his hometown of Oswego, Illinois. He still lives in Oswego with his wife, Krista, of 21 years and their three children, Kara, Olivia, and Scott. A lifelong Cubs’ fan, Chris began contributing to the Cubs’ blog, Bleacher Nation, in 2011. While he has always aspired to be a writer, Chris credits his exposure to Brett Taylor’s Bleacher Nation for giving him the forum and the audience to get his creative juices going. This is his first book.