“Are you a Cubs fan? Hey, are you a Cubs fan?”

Well yes, I am, but are you?

I have heard this question more and more as it gets farther into the month of October and the Chicago Cubs continue their stretch to go to the World Series.

It seems to me the recent success of the Cubs has increased the team’s fan base here on campus in a short period of time.

I can disrespect my five roommates who are Chicago White Sox fans all I want, and in turn they can give me trouble for being a Cubs fan because they follow their team.

But what makes me mad are the people who suddenly are pretending to be Cubs fans or Cub haters.

It makes me cringe that I have to agree with a White Sox fan, but these people need to be quiet and go back to where they were before the Cubs started winning.

True Cubs fans have either watched or listened to Cubs games in more than two months of the baseball season.

Anyone could turn on the TV in September and October and know the Cubs are in the hunt for their first World Series victory in 95 years. A Cub fan should know a lot of the Cubs’ starting lineup wasn’t there at the beginning.

Do you know who Corey Patterson is? How about Lenny Harris, who just happens to be suiting up for the opposing team in the NLCS?

All I am saying is I have earned the title of Cubs fan. I come from an area where Milwaukee Brewers games are put on TV, and I can only catch a Cubs game if it’s on WGN.

I don’t know how many times I turned on the radio to listen to Pat Hughes and Ron Santo or had a pitch-by-pitch update on my computer at work just so I could catch a middle of the season game.

It’s the people like me who have been following the Cubs for years who should be doing the talking on campus right now.

A person doesn’t have to know the batting average of Sammy Sosa on away games on turf at night to be a fan, but they should at least know more than five players who aren’t Sosa, Kerry Wood or Mark Prior.

When it all comes down to it, I’ll accept the extra support for the Cubbies since it’s a rarity they are ever seen at this time. But don’t pretend you know things you don’t and make true Cubs fans look bad.

Being a Cubs fan takes dedication and a lot of patience. Being a Cubs fan takes knowing who Augie Ojeda is. Being a Cubs fan is much more than only showing up in October when the season is six months long.

So please keep your cheers to a minimum and wait until next season for another chance to prove yourself as a real Cubs fan.