Last week, history was made as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in Game 7 of the World Series to win the title for the first time in 108 years.
Yes, you heard that right folks, the Cubs had not won a World Series in over a century, and last week the world got to see them party like it was 1908.
This Cinderella story came back from a 3-1 series deficit to claim the title and play what quite possibly could be the most legendary Game 7 in World Series history. This game, featuring the Cleveland Indians fighting their way back from being down four runs in the eighth inning, and then a seventeen-minute rain delay, going into what could possibly be the most stressful inning in baseball history. But they did it. The curse is broken and the Cubs reigned victorious once again.
For some, it was hard to believe that this wasn’t a dream. Even as I’m typing this, I’m listening to a fan say, “I honestly can’t believe we did it. I don’t care if we go another hundred years, two hundred years, I don’t care. I just can’t believe I got to see it.”
It doesn’t seem real for many, especially the fans that have been there since the beginning – the ones that have prayed every season, and ultimately chalked up a losing streak to a curse from the “Billy Goat” and went home. These are the fans that this win was for. Jed Hoyer, manager of the Cubs since 2011, put it best when he said: “It’s about this city and the fans who have stuck by this team forever.”
I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Sam West, a Chicago native and avid Cubs fan, about what a win like this meant to her, and she stated: “Cubs fans will tell you over and over again that ‘it’s not easy to love a cursed team.’ I’m the fourth generation of die-hard Cubs fans from Chicago and the first to see a Cubs victory in the World Series. I’m thrilled for my city, for the fans, for Joe Maddon, for all of the young players that had this opportunity, but ‘Flying the W’ after the 10th inning in game 7 means so much more to me than just that. For me and for many others, it’s about keeping your faith when all odds are against you. It shows us that in the midst of a lot of awful things in the world, it’s okay to be happy and hopeful.”
She continued to state: “Baseball is considered one of the most superstitious sports. Joe Maddon carried his father’s Angels hat with him for good measure, and during the 10th inning of game 7, I grabbed the first stuffed animal my dad ever gave me and held it in my lap. He showed me his love of the game from a young age and I know he’d be so happy to see their victory if he could be here.”
This cloud of superstition has hung over the Cubs for as long as many fans can remember, so this win was not only a testament to the strength of this team, but for the future of the franchise. This was a win that inspired hope in not only the fans, but in the city as a whole. This was a win for everyone who stuck by this program and defended this program after years of loss and disappointment, for the fans who went home with heavy hearts and tears in their eyes year after year, this was for them.
So go Cubs! It’s been a long time coming, but now it’s time to raise that W. Raise it for the 25 players that fought hard all season long, and for the managers and coaches that never lost faith in them, but most importantly, raise it for the fans, like Sam, that just never stopped believing in the team and the city that they loved.
Sources:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-cubs-world-series-rea…
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-win-world-ser…
http://www.si.com/mlb/2016/11/03/2016-world-series-newspaper-front-pages