Interview with Eric Skidmore, President and Tech Sherpa

Let’s start with the question we posed in the summer newsletter. Are the Chicago Cubs really as good as their record would indicate?

The great play-by-play radio announcer for the Cubs, Pat Hughes, uses this quote by Lou Holtz during his broadcast when describing both good and bad times for the Cubs: “You’re never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you’re never as bad as they say when you lose”. With this in mind, I keep expecting them to cool off some this year–which they have recently. Even with this last stretch, it is a very special year. To catch up on where the Cubs are currently (and my bet with Keith for the year) visit https://NinePeaksSolutions.com/CUBSReport.

How did you become such an avid Cubs fan given that you were raised in Central Oregon?

Seeing my first major league game in color early in the 1967 season. My Dad worked two jobs during the Winter of 1966/1967 so he could get enough money to buy the family a color television. The first game I saw on our new TV was Cardinals vs Cubs game from Wrigley. It was the Saturday “Game of Week” on NBC with Curt Gowdy and Pee Wee Reese. This was amazing to see something being broadcast live in color from Chicago for a small town boy in Madras, Oregon.

What is your most memorable Cubs moment?

While I have many memorable Cubs moments, I would say the MOST memorable is attending the CUBS vs Dodgers game in Los Angeles on April 17, 2006. Greg Maddox (HOF 2014) was masterful pitching for the CUBS that evening in Chavez Ravine. It was his 301st career victory – this would be what some people would refer to as his Hall of Fame game when he went over the 300 career victory number as a starting pitcher in the major leagues. Maddox would be traded to the Dodgers later on this season. I attended the game with Doug Mecimore, CORT payroll consultant at the time.

Thanks for your time today, Eric. Final question: You said earlier that you think this is a very special year for the Cubs. Is your confidence such that, if the Cubs get knocked out early, you’ll wear the ball cap of the winning team and post a photo to the Nine Peaks website?

I have to be somewhat selective here. My answer would be yes … unless it’s the Cardinals. I don’t know that I could drag myself to put on one of their hats and have a photo taken. Reason: their management reserved a special place for CUBS fans when they demolished the old Busch stadium by imploding it in 2005. More details can be found via this link. Side note: I did attend one of the final games to be played in September 2005 at the old Busch and witnessed the sign displayed in the video first hand … and more than a few comments from Cardinals fans while attending the game in my CUBS hat.
Click here for more of Eric’s memorable Cubs moments.