CHICAGO — Kris Bryant is a star for the Cubs — and, it would seem, the star of '80s sitcom "Perfect Strangers."
A new mashup video combines clips of the Cubs — including rookie stars Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Starlin Castro — with the intro from "Perfect Strangers," a hit sitcom that focused on "odd couple" cousins Larry Appleton and Balki Bartokomous as newcomers to Chicago.
Watch the video:
The video was created by superfan Joe Lee, who said he's a "super nerdy Cubs fan" even though he's from Pennsylvania and lives in Los Angeles. It took him five to six hours to make the mashup, which was suggested by Bleacher Nation, and he released the video Monday. It follows a parody of the "Full House" intro from the San Francisco Giants and a video of Pittsburgh Pirates clips paired with "Family Matters."
The video seems like a no-brainer for Lee, who works in the film industry and loves the Cubs: He can describe all of the 16 Wrigley games he's been at, he met Sammy Sosa when he was 8 years old and, he dressed as infamous fan Steve Bartman for Halloween one year (he bombed photos and "kind of tried to screw everything up" while in the costume, he joked).
And just like Lee was a match for the video, "Perfect Strangers" is a match for the Cubs: The show was famous for depicting Chicago (Balki and Larry even stop by Wrigley Field), Balki's optimism mirrors that of Cubs devotees hopeful of a playoff run and fans undoubtedly hope they'll be doing the "dance of joy" in October.
The theme song, which runs throughout Lee's video, fits how fans are feeling about the season, too: "No matter what the odds are this time, nothing's gonna stand in my way." The Cubs haven't won the World Series in 107 years, but they have the fourth-best record in baseball and could make it to the playoffs.
Lee, 25, said he never saw "Perfect Strangers" during its run in the late '80s and early '90s and had no clue it was such a fit with the season. He is among the fans excited and hopeful about the Cubs making it to the playoffs, though, describing the last few months of the team's play as "unbelievably fun."
"All of the fans are coming out now. Everybody's like on board," he said. "I just hope they make the playoffs. If you make the playoffs, anything can happen. If you get in you have a chance."
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