Letters to the Editor

Curse not source of Cubs’ magic

Concerning Kendall Salter’s Sept. 30 Sports column (“Continuing the curse would benefit Cubs”) on the Chicago Cubs’ notorious curse, I completely disagree with the basic premise of his argument.

Two statements stand out in particular.

First, he describes the Cubs as a “true all-American story” and implies this is a result of their tendency to lose.

Since when has the all-American story been about constant failure without ever reaching success?

Indeed the opposite of Salter’s column is correct: A Cub victory in the World Series would be the true all-American story.

Overcoming a historic trend of October collapses for the Cubs would be the greatest underdog story in the history of baseball.

How could winning possibly be detrimental to the franchise, and baseball itself, as Salter ignorantly claims?

Second, he contends that by winning, the Cubs will lose “their lovable luster.”

Has Kendall Salter even attended a game at Wrigley Field?

The Chicago Cubs’ lovable luster for the true baseball fan is the experience of a game with 40,000 Cub fans on a weekday afternoon, most of whom should be at work or school.

But instead they are singing “Go Cubs Go,” drinking a beer and supporting the team regardless of their record.

Whether the Cubs are good or bad, Wrigley is full by game time, not the fifth inning.

It’s perspectives like Salter’s that often leave me reading less and less of The Bruin’s sports columnists’ opinion pieces.

Go Cubbies!

Michael Johnston

Fourth-year, history

Spotlight on transportation warranted

Dear Mr. Aikins:

Thanks for your column “Westwood subway stop would do wonders for UCLA” (Oct. 1).

Between you and Carolyn McGough, we are thrilled that the Daily Bruin is covering Metro’s planning efforts to develop meaningful transit options for the congested Westside of Los Angeles.

We have had tremendous participation over the last year during the Alternatives Analysis phase of this work.

Before the end of this calendar year, we plan to seek authorization from the Metro Board of Directors to move the planning work forward into a Draft EIR/EIS.

We invite all UCLA students, faculty and staff to participate in the Metro Westside Extension planning process.

To find out about the work already done, ask questions, send your views or add yourself to our database to be informed of future developments, please go to

Metro.net/Westside.

Students can also find us on Facebook at “Metro Westside Extension.”

Jody Feerst Litvak

Metro Westside Extension Study Team

1 Gateway Plaza

Los Angeles, CA 90012-2952

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *