Dear Cubs Fans,

Wow. What a season! A week later, it's still hard to put into words just how special this past year was for all of us.

On behalf of my family and the entire Cubs organization, we want to thank you. Without your patience and support, we never would have been able to begin building a championship-caliber team the right way.

From the many great team victories to some incredible individual performances, this team got us to believe in magic and showed us anything is possible when you set your mark high. Led by a dynamic, one-of-a-kind manager and fueled by youthful enthusiasm and remarkable talent, our team not only competed, but proved to be a real contender. With the third-best record in baseball, we experienced a 24-win turnaround from 2014 and our first postseason berth since 2008.

None of us will ever forget our October games. The vibe in the ballpark was electric thanks to your constant energy. With every "Go Cubs Go" chorus and every W flag flown, the team felt your support. Defeating the Cardinals in our first-ever postseason matchup and clinching a series at Wrigley Field for the first time in franchise history was truly incredible. While we fell short against the Mets in the National League Championship Series, our ultimate goal remains - to win a World Series. Now more than ever, I believe we are in position to pursue and accomplish that goal.

During this past year, we also made solid progress toward our second goal of preserving Wrigley Field. Again, thank you for your patience. The new video boards debuted to rave reviews, and the Budweiser Bleachers are back and better than ever with upgraded amenities and new group spaces. This offseason will be just as productive as we work to complete our new state-of-the-art clubhouse and Wrigley Field ticket office. Most importantly, the work you won't necessarily see is the continued replacement of the steel and concrete that will allow Wrigley Field to stand for the next generation of Cubs fans.

In addition to the tremendous progress we made on the field this season, we also made great strides in the community. The generosity of our players, fans, partners and neighbors was felt far beyond the Friendly Confines and helped us further our third goal of being a good neighbor. Our team and Cubs Charities are on track to donate more than $1.5 million this year. Cubs Charities signature programs - Cubs Scholars, Cubs on the Move Fitness Program and the Diamond Project - continued to thrive as we welcomed our third class of scholars, launched an online fitness curriculum available to more than 1 million Chicago kids and awarded nearly $500,000 in grants to improve the quality and safety of local baseball fields.

In 2015, we also saw past contributions come to life as we helped open Margaret Donahue Park and Kerry Wood Cubs Field. These wonderful community assets are enhancing the quality of life in our community and providing local athletes with a place to improve their skills while fostering their love of the game.

It is certainly encouraging to take a minute to look back and celebrate what we were able to accomplish together on and off the field. Now that our 2015 season is in the record books, there is no need to worry about predictions and going "Back to the Future." The future is now. We are ready to carry the momentum into 2016 and continue this special journey with you.

Let's Go Cubs,

Tom Ricketts

_________________
"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Nice!!!

Get ready to bend over (for 2016 season tickets).

_________________

Just saw this email and was going to start a thread mocking Tom.

Oh well.

_________________

I think it will be a consistant increase. I am pretty sure they had a "3 year plan" on the prices.

_________________
"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Between the outstanding talent already on the major league team, additional talent in the minor league system, additional revenue from all the playoff games this post-season and a healthy number of good free agents available.....particularly starting pitchers, this off season is as intriguing as any the Cubs have had in a very long time. Ricketts has to be downright giddy looking at the future for this team and the huge revenue streams that will only increase with new TV deals before much longer. Damn they made a great investment and have done a great job in getting excellent Baseball people to run the operations. The new spring training facility, the facility in the Dominican republic, the renovation of Wrigley Field.....they have done an outstanding job with this team.

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

mannnnn those are prolly the two things i hate most about WOO CUBBIES!!!!1 fandom. go cubs go is self explanatory, but that fucking W flag is right up there if not even higher. it's so goddamn disrespectful to show up at another team's ballpark and unfurl some giant W flag to dance around in the usually-empty/ish stands like YEAH WE WON WOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i'd say "act like you've been in the endzone b4" but odds are that most cubs fans dont even know where to find a football field, metaphorically speaking. so yeah maybe #WeAreGood is something that it's gonna take a few years to get used to.... but comeon guys, "it's time" to EXPECT WINNING. DEMAND WINNING. do you see yankees fans on the road unfurling a giant WE WON flag whenever they win a random game 4-2 @ the great american smallpark in may? that's some loser mentality shit like it's so rare/OMFG that you won you gotta unfurl this giant flag and dance around like YEAHHHH OMFGGG WE ACTUALLY WON!!!!

ask yourself if yankees/braves fans would do something you're about to do, and if the answer is a resounding NO then don't do it. it's time to grow up and shed this hokey loveable losers crap, and im not even saying to get rid of the W flag shirts or even to not unfurl the dumbass things @ home..... but i dont wanna turn on some random game in may-june where it's the cubs beating a mediocre/bad team in a 1/4 filled ballpark and at the end of the game the cameraman cuts away to a pack of cubs fans in a sea of empty seats dancing around with a giant W flag while go cubs go is played over the images..... GET OVER THAT SHIT! ACT LIKE YOU'RE USED TO WINNING WITH SOME CLASS AND DIGNITY! DON'T FLY THE FUCKING FLAG IN OTHER BALLPARKS!

i guarantee if the mets fans started waving around giant mr. met heads after every playoff victory @ wrigley cubs fans woulda gotten pissed and thrown beers at them... but then when the shoe is on the other foot it's prolly like "comeon! its our thing and thats just what we do! if you dont want us to #FlyTheW then beat our team!"

so yeah, even tho it wont happen cuz cubs fans en masse gotta adopt that hokey go cubs go / fly the W shit as their only forms of "tradition' when it comes to winning, i just hope that cubs fans en masse can grow up and get used to winning like the yankees, especially since you're supposed to be embarking on a brave new era where you're hearkening the greatest runs of yankees dynasties of yesteryear.... so "it's time" to class up the joint!

_________________

nice rant

_________________

it's sports? you're allowed to have fun? yikes

Isn't this the kind of stuff that makes people hate the Cardinals?

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

People hate the Cardinals because they win.

...and own a Steroid lab

_________________
"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

...which Jake Arrieta may frequent.

_________________

Nobody ever called it "the right way".

_________________
The Court will accord substantial deference to the government's immigration policies, particularly those that implicate matters of national security.

TL;DR

_________________
Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

I will never read one of your posts without hearing this guys voice and assuming you are him.

_________________
Kenny Williams fell for the banana in the tailpipe

Managers do not matter. 2005. Love that year.

It's cool when we can actually hear the desperation in your voice.

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

kid is shaken after seeing how theses playoffs went down. Give him a break.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Yep, 3 consecutive sub .500 seasons and only one post season appearance in the past decade does have that shaken effect on some of the members of the subdivision.

Oh and didn't that once in a decade post season team in 2008 win once against Joe Maddon's Rays. Thank god losing pitcher Johnny Danks was able to win that 1 game.

_________________

May you one day find the peace that comes with something like 2005.

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I picture Tom sitting down to type this on a Word Processor and taking a moment to ponder his final thought a la Doogie Howser and his electronic journal

Does he have Scott Walker proofread it first?

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Pretty sure Tommy Boy can afford a college grad for that sort of thing.

Ok, 6 then.

No one else though.

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Wrong thread

Oops.

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!