MovieChat Forums > This Old Cub (2004) Discussion > a great documentary

a great documentary

posted 20 years ago by PhotoV
14 replies | jump to latest

I have to say that I was truly impressed with this documentrary and think that it is one of the best ones that I have seen. I have grown up listening to the Cubs on the radio and seeing them at Wrigley a few times, but I never really got in to the true spirit of baseball. For the past fews years I never sat down and watched a game or listened to Ron Santo or Pat Hughes on the radio because my mom would cheer everytime they scored cause she would be the one to listen to them so I found no need to. I just got back from seeing This Old Cub and even though I was never a die hard Cubs fan, I felt a connection with everyone else in the audience while I watched. We all knew the highs and lows of the Cubs and we smiled and laughed at the great times like the Cubs going to the Playoffs last year and we also cringed at the bad times, like when Brant Brown droped the ball when the Cubs were playing the Milwaukee Brewers for the playoff spot, and also when the fan caught the ball in the playoffs last year that put a hex on the cubs and they lost the Playoffs. This Old Cub is an exceptional documentary that anyone, Cubs fan or not, will enjoy. Ron Santo is a remarkable person who has gone through so much in his life and still is a leader to himself and to others. I learned alot today about one of the greatest baseball players of all time and I will definatly be seeing this film again soon. 10/10

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] lilprincess53 20 years ago

I too am a Cubs fan and I loved this film! There were times when I laughed hard in it and times when I couldn't hold the tears back! Ron Santo is an inspiration to others! I also just recently went to a Cub/Cardinal game at Busch Stadium and after the game I ran into Ron and he had no problem with shaking my grandpa's and my hand and saying a couple nice things to us. It was great! I really hope Ron gets into the Hall of Fame!

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] MovieDude1893 19 years ago

I was wondering if there are any non Cub fans who enjoy this film as a film.

PS IM A HUGE CUBBIE FAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Math my boy is nothing more than the lesbian sister of biology.

[–] matthew_rogina 19 years ago

It's a fact Santo was the divisive personality in the '69 Flubbie clubhouse that turned rookie centerfielder Don Young into a basket case.

It is also a fact Santo was the divisive personality in the '74 Sox clubhouse that turned near-rookie secondbasemen Jorge Orta into a basket case. He was called out by Dick Allen on this very point.

It's a fact Ron Santo took a contending '69 team and turned them into a 92-win second-place joke, and a contending '74 team and turned them into an 80-win fourth-place joke. And those were Santo's good years!

The Cubune can spin the facts all they want. This guy was the consummate loser. He made everything around him worse. And no teary-eyed whitewash job by the spinmeisters at Cubune Tower can change it... though I'm sure their legion of obiedient sheep will believe every word of it. They just love those Cubbies...

Induct Santo into the Diabetics' Hall of Fame. His story battling that awful disease is inspirational. But the Baseball Hall of Fame? You've got to be joking...

[–] MovieDude1893 19 years ago

Oh I'm sure every last fuc@ing person in the Hall of Fame is jolly and likeable. (Babe Ruth was a womanizer and Mickey Mantle was an alchaholic) Santo sould be in the Hall of Fame and ALOT of sportwriters agree with me and I quote Peter Gammons (who is in the Hall)
"Ron Santo is the best player ever who is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame"
So ther YOU go.

Math my boy is nothing more than the lesbian sister of biology.

[–] matthew_rogina 19 years ago

Of course Santo should be in the hall he is a career .277 hitter which puts him among the greats like Bobby Bo and Jeff Blauser. LOL And he was on the Cubs! You have to give some weight to the fact that he played on such a premier franchise with their history of being involved in so many post-season games!

Regardless, he is a self-promoter, and he's lucky to have the ear of the most sheep-like audience in sports (Cubs fans.) Beyond his self-promotion, he's nothing. He doesn't exist.

Diabetes? Lost his legs? Just like obesity, It doesn't happen unless you aren't taking care of yourself. Don't make a cause out of your own stuidity, as you're just excusing it for others.

If I had JD and were to drink myself silly for the next 30 years would I get pity because my legs had to be amputated? Of course not, and neither should you Ron.
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[–] MovieDude1893 19 years ago

The Hall of Fame isnt all offense. He is still one of the best 3rd basemen of all time and the Greatest Cub Third baseman of all time. He defense was great so a solid hiter and a great defensive infeilder so he should be in the Hall of Fame!

Math my boy is nothing more than the lesbian sister of biology.

[–] matthew_rogina 19 years ago

Hall of Fame? Debatable? My problem with Santo and this movie is how this movie portrays him and how the Cub fan base slurp it all up. The guy is a phony. The movie is a whitewash job of who Santo really is. Cub fans love him because he is a loser and is part of their losing tradition. That is why they think he should be in the Hall of Fame.

One adjective sticks in my head: "Maudlin." Santo is perfectly maudlin, and perfect for the Cubs because their fans are such a self-pitying lot. I'm old enough to confirm Santo having been central to the '69 choke job. It's fitting that those heel clicks probably kept a few old-timers from voting for him, because it was plain undignified. The Don Young story is real, and it precipitated the team's meltdown. I waited for some mention of it in the movie but, no, that would have been too honest.

A few years ago, he owned a restaurant near me in Schaumburg called "Ron Santo's Roasters". The T.V. commercial had him in it talking about the place, the food, etc. Under his talking head, the words Ron Santo appeared. Underneath them, Future Hall of Famer. Getting a little ahead of and full of yourself Ron ?

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] matthew_rogina 19 years ago

no, i said i used to live near schaumburg

[–] prior22wood 19 years ago

Its Santo's fault that the Cubs collapsed in 69? He hit .290 that year with 30 home runs and 125 RBIs, and in September, when the Cubs REALLY spun out of control, he hit somewhere in the neighborhood of .350. The only reason the Cubs won as many as 92 games that year WAS Ron Santo. Without him they were a .500 fifth place joke.

Derek Jeter is a prominent figure in the Yankees lockerroom. Is he the sole person to blame for the Yanks 2004 collapse? The points you make in that post are pathetic. Ron santo is one of the best 3rd baseman EVER to play the game of baseball, and for him to not be in the HOF is an absolute joke.

[–] matthew_rogina 19 years ago

Like I said before, he was a divisive clubhouse person. Derek Jeter got four WS rings in five years and is on his way to the HOF. Ron Santo's lifetime statistics show that he was nothing more than a stat-filler.

A clubhouse cancer (like Santo was) can changed the momentum of a team headed into the post-season. Without Ron Santo, the Cubs are .500? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Figure Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins, Ken Holtzman, Randy Hundley had zero to do with their success.

[–] ecwlife2000 16 years ago

as a baseball fan first yankee fan second i must say one of the best baseball documentries put out in a while.....