Book excerpt: Fifty-five year-old Hack Stansky is convinced that 2001 will be The Year It Finally Happened for the Springfield Heroes, a baseball team who last won the World Series ninety-nine years ago. Sitting in historic Squiggley Field, euphorically awaiting the start of game seven of the series, Hack waxes nostalgic. He regales his son, Ernie, with the coming to America stories of Carlo Squigglini, the Italian immigrant who makes a fortune in the fast food business and becomes the owner of the Heroes, and his own grandfather, Avrum Stanskovich, who escapes the pogroms of Russia and becomes the first of the four generations of Stanskys who live and die with the Heroes. The championship game begins and the life-long dream of Springfield's long-suffering fans edges closer to reality. The near century long drought appears to be over. But what really matters most? Is it winning the championship, or is it remaining loyal to the team even when they lose?