The beginning of another season of Major League Baseball means that it is time once again for the annual reemergence of one of society’s strangest and most baffling subcultures: Chicago Cubs fans. Despite the fact that they haven’t won a pennant since 1945, the Cubs can still theoretically be part of a healthy and productive lifestyle when enjoyed in moderation. They can also provide, for certain misguided devotees, an excuse for alcoholism, misogyny, general boorishness, and eternal adolescence. That’s what’s being parodied in “Wrigleyville Cubs Playboys,” a new YouTube video by comedians Conner O’Malley (Late Night With Seth Meyers) and Carmen Christopher (Kill All Comedy). This is territory O’Malley and Christopher know well, as both are Chicago natives and have grown up in close proximity to Cubs fans. Their three-and-a-half-minute video almost plays like a nature film, capturing an exotic species in its natural habitat. In this case, the species is Cubs fanatics and the habitat is Chicago’s North Side, where Ribfests occur nearly every weekend it seems.
In the video, O’Malley and Christopher portray Mark and Matt, two twentysomething guys who live in Wrigleyville and define themselves by their devotion to the Cubs. Resplendent in their blue and red Cubs gear, the two prowl around in front of the camera, making random boasts as they attempt to define and defend their hard-partying way of life. But occasionally, amid all the bravado, their sadness and dysfunction peak through. “I get mad when people don’t want to drink as much as I do,” O’Malley admits. Another disturbing statement, again by O’Malley: “When I get fucked up, it’s not my responsibility what I do or say.” These guys seem incapable of having any original thoughts, drawing inspiration instead from Entourage, The Wolf Of Wall Street, Dave Matthews, and the literature of Tucker Max. Short of actually traveling to Chicago and attending a game at Wrigley Field, this video might be the best possible way of experiencing the dark, boozy world of Cubs fandom.
[via Splitsider]