Hey everyone, welcome back! I hope you all had a great winter break and a very happy new year! My name is Christian Gralak and I’ll be one of the writers for the sports section this semester.

My love for sports has always been strong. When I was young, I played on a youth baseball league called Chicago Pipe and Boiler. I would find myself pitching on the mound most of the time but I also did a little bit of fielding at shortstop and first base.

Out of all our beloved Chicago sports teams, the Chicago Cubs were the team to claim my heart. Even though they’ve had their history of losing, it’s always an amazing feeling to see the “W” flag raised up in Wrigley and around the neighborhood whenever I make my way downtown – rain or shine.

If someone were to ask me: what was one of the greatest games you remember watching, it would definitely be when the Cubs came back against the Colorado Rockies in 2008. Lou Piniella was coaching the team back then – taking the Cubs to two consecutive postseasons in 2007 and 2008.

The Cubs were down by a score of 9-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning and many thought this was just another game to hang up and forget about. Not the Cubs though. Kosuke Fukudome would come up to the plate with one man on and nobody out. With a 2-1 count, Fukudome crushed a homerun to left field making the score 9-3 – cutting the Cubs’ deficit to six.

In that same inning, right after Fukudome, Jim Edmonds blasted another homer to center field making the score 9-4.

As the game went on into the bottom of the seventh, the Cubs made it clear that they weren’t going away. Catcher Henry Blanco, an unlikely hero, stepped up to the plate with a man on first and one out. On a 1-1 count, Blanco blasted a homer to left field making the score 9-6.

A few minutes later, Edmonds would come through again with two men on and one out. With a 1-1 count, Edmonds doubled to deep center and cleared the bases, making the score 9-8.

Then, Mark DeRosa, the main hero of the game, would come up with a full count and one out, blasting a two-run homer to deep left-center field giving the Cubs a 10-9 lead over the Rockies.

Kerry Wood would then complete the save in the ninth and just like that, the Cubs completed their eight-run comeback against the Rockies with their unforgettable six-run seventh inning.

That was the game that really got me into believing that no matter what the odds are, if you are down and out never give up, because there is always a chance for a comeback.

As a Communication/Media/Theatre major it is my dream to become a sports broadcaster for the Cubs one day. Any sports broadcasting job in general would be a dream come true.

I wish everyone the best of luck this semester and hope to see some new faces stop by the Independent office. We’re located in room E049 by the Student Leadership Development offices.