There's no doubt the company is growing rapidly. When we had the original discussion their likely profits- if there even were any- weren't anywhere close to what they probably were for the last quarter.

The killer application of Facebook was in establishing the true identities- however loosely- of users in what had previously been a venue where everyone was anonymous, at least for the most part. Google+, which is growing far faster than Facebook at the same point in their respective existences, is taking that one step further by actually verifying the identities of users. That will open the door further to targeted advertising and e-commerce options. In effect, Google is tightening its grip on the Internet. My guess is that Paypal will be the first giant to fall. Catching up to Facebook may prove slightly more challenging. In any case, it's very interesting to watch. And as much as I may dislike Paypal and be indifferent to Facebook, I'm certainly not rooting for Google.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

By Paypal failing, what do you mean? Can't see eBay going under, so you're predicting eBay scraps Paypal all together?

If Google is successful in what they're trying to do they'll have control of the majority of handheld devices, and a fully integrated system is appealing for users. It's the "value meal" concept. People don't have to think. People like "package deals". Once enough people have a Google e-commerce account that is simple to access from all their devices, ebay/Paypal is going to have to make the call on whether they accept such a widely used form of payment. My belief is that at some point the user demand will become so great that ebay/Paypal will be forced to allow users to pay via its competitor. That's somewhere down the road. and I'm sure ebay will fight that tooth and nail. The first step will probably be to start playing fair with its own users and reduce the time it holds their money, etc. Google's entry into the space will be good for consumers. At first.

But who really knows? You know that this stuff can move very quickly. There may be a player out there nobody has heard of or nobody has considered or perhaps even one that currently doesn't exist to throw a wrench into things. Also, at some point I would expect the government is going to have to put the brakes on Google. The Google-Motorola deal is still up in the air, isn't it?

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Precise local references like these tickle me. Right down the street from where I took swimming lessons!

_________________

I mention Arlington Park because it's not likely to be there in ten years unless something drastic happens in the Illinois racing industry and that location is ideal for the kind of Cub Town li'l danny is always promoting.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Wasn't Arlington Park also on the shortlist of sites the Cubs would've moved to in the '80s, along with that Tribune-owned parcel off the Eisenhower in Elk Grove/Itasca/Wood Dale?

_________________

Attendance is attendance. It doesn't matter why it's there. But I think it's a little misguided to believe that the Cubs draw 38,000 a game just because people like watching the Cubs play. They never did that before the park became a fetish. It was the same damn park in 1970s when they closed the upper deck and about 5000 people saw Ernie hit his 500th homer.

I do think they could draw 50,000 a night in my hypothetical stadium for a year or two, but after that they'd be a normal team. At that point what would differentiate them from the other team with whom they share a market?

I know it's natural to see the park sell out and say, "hey, if it were bigger we could sell more seats", but I don't think that's necessarily true. Part of the reason they sell out is the ballpark.

Finally, I find it disingenuous when certain Cub fans beat you over the head with how great the "Wrigley experience" is in one argument and then tell you it doesn't mean a thing in a different argument. It has to be one or the other, right? For the record, I do think the "Wrigley experience" is great. I've seen a lot of games there, and I don't really root for the Cubs to lose. I'm just confident that they usually will. But I don't think the park has anything to do with that. The odd day game schedule, maybe.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

I don't remember, but Arlington is a pretty damn good location. If a Cub Town were to be more successful than Wrigley, it might have a shot there.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

too far..nobody wants to drive that far

_________________

But like IMU said, there are thousands of Cub fans in the northwest suburbs. My argument would be that there are just as many fans out there, but they aren't likely to be the kind of fans that go to as many games as the frat boys that populate the area around Wrigley, have a lot of disposable cash, and no other real responsibilities. And bigger than that, they'd be ceding the title of "Chicago's team" to the White Sox and the corporations that love to treat clients and themselves to a day at Wrigley would likely spend at least some of that money elsewhere, maybe even at the park just a few miles south of downtown.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Are we really going to have an argument about what a "true fan" is? If a guy goes to twelve games a year, gets drunk as fuck, and doesn't know the score, and you go to one game and meticulously keep a perfect scorecard, what makes you think you're the "true fan" and he isn't?

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Real talk. I grew up in Arlington Heights and I don't think I was even cognizant of the White Sox till I saw an ad in GamePro for a Frank Thomas video game.


Yeah. This is precisely why I don't want the Cubs anywhere in the NW burbs and the Score, as a station, does. I like that we can all, north or south, make a claim to rooting for "Chicago's team." I don't root for the baseball Islanders.

_________________

It's simple man. You build the new "Suburban" stadium. It gets an automatic attendance bump cause it's a new stadium right?
You have "Classic" matchups at Wrigley still. So when the Cards or some high profile team like Yankees or Sox come to town, the game is at Wrigley. Other then those special days, it's like Doubleday... just a museum.

By the time the new stadium bump wears off, the Cubs are a contender because JesuTheo has turned the Cub into a WS winner.

Now doesn't that sound nice?

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

No offense, dude, but you're the rare twenty-four year old single male who prefers living in Schaumburg to living at the corner of Roscoe and Racine. You also drive a hatchback.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

i know that there are frat boys who go for the field not the team..but they are the minority.. everyone knows that the north side has the women and the bars so the north side will always be a draw..when the cubs rebuild they need to stay in the city and on the north side. not many want to get on the expressway and drive through a dozen suburbs after having a few beers and have to drive home.

_________________

I'm just busting your balls. I don't care what kind of car you drive.

Don't tell me your buddies lived downtown and moved back to the suburbs for any other reason than money or getting married- which also makes the reason money. I'm also guessing what you and I call "downtown" may be different things. Anyway, you're not really going to compare the Streets of Woodfield with a real Chicago neighborhood, are you?

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

In what thinking? I didnt say it was a magic ticket. My stance is not Bernstein's. I think the location is more important than the park if were having that discussion

But the special park thing hasnt really produced a lot of results. My point is, whatever moves you deem a step towards winning should be made regardless of how it affects the special ballpark. Sure they might be wrong, but I dont want my team operating to protect the park before winning. Make the moves to win, THEN if you can try and preserve the special factor.


And I think you are mistaken on this swinging back to a Sox town or the Cubs losing appeal.

That war is over. The Cubs won. They are a national and even a global team. That is not going away. If Wrigley crumbles today (could happen) the Cubs are still the Cubs and fans of that Evil Red C will still be fans.

I know how it was before Wrigleyville happened. Sox were bigger at some points. But that was before ESPN (HUGE part in making the Cubs natl) and the internet and every other form of media that has magnified exposure.

My point is the Natl teams have been decided in all the major sports and that is not changing. (If it could change it would take generations to happen)


Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs will always have the natl appeal.

Maybe Im wrong.

If I didnt know you better, Id think you were a Sox fan that is just hating on the Cubs and has convinced himself that its just the park and other than that Cubs = Sox. That WAS true, before the Cubs took the market. I just dont think it can be reversed.

sounds like those guys are getting ready to settle down...the sox could overtake the cubs in ten years if a large land based hotel casino was built on the lakefront 2 miles from their park with more bars and restaurants built up in the area.

_________________

Yeah, you can build up the suburbs all you want. Nothing in Illinois can replicate living in the city for someone in their 20's

There does seem to be one guy in every group who resists the whole living downtown/near north thing.

One could certainly prefer suburban life, but if you like going out a lot, concerts, bars, and having almost limitless options to do these things with easy ways to get there....there is no substitute

I would hate living in the city. People everywhere. Constantly. Everywhere.
Nah I much prefer living out here man. Very little traffic in the neighborhood. Extremely quiet. Nice starry skies.
I never really was a go out to bars kind of guy anyway. I mean, I do like bars, but I love chillin with a 12er and a fire in the backyard a lot more.

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

I just don't think a Diamondvision and advertisements replacing the ivy gets you closer to a championship.

You may be right about the so-called "national teams". I do think that can change over time. Considering the business you're in, I know you understand just how difficult predicting the future can be. I'm pretty sure nobody thought in 1980 that the Cubs would become what they have and that the neighborhood would be what it is. The few guys who did (George Loukas) got rich. And maybe he just got lucky.

Finally, I don't think I've come close to hating on the Cubs in this thread. In fact, I've admitted I enjoy baseball at their park.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don