Special Report: The Cubs (finally) win the World Series

Throughout the years, the most dedicated sports fans can say that they have been committed to patiently rooting for their teams. Whether it’s Los Angeles baseball fans waiting for the Dodgers to win the World Series again or LA Clippers fans waiting a championship win for the first time, fans across the board have felt the agony of close losses and tight wins. However, despite the anxiety of the many LA sports fans, none of these dry spells compare to the 108 years of agony and let downs that fans of the Chicago Cubs went through. Fans of this team have more patience than any other sports teams, as they have had the worst luck in the past. But all of this suddenly changed for the cubbies. On the evening on Nov. 2, Chicago sat perfectly still as families gathered in houses, friends gathered in bars and fans gathered in Wrigleyville to watch the critical game seven of the World Series against the Cleveland Indians. Fans of the Chicago Cubs have had it far from easy. The last time the Cubs won the World Series was in 1908. The last time they made it to the series at all was in 1945, the year of the billy goat. Any true Cubs fan will know what the “curse” is, if mentioned to them. The curse of the billy goat originated when the Chicago Cubs played the Detroit Tigers in the 1945 World Series. The Cubs, having last won in 1908, held at the time not only the dubious record of longest league pennant drought, but also the longest World Series drought in history. Before game four of the series, a man named Billy Sianis went to Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs) with two box tickets. One for himself, and one for his goat. The two were asked to leave, due to the goat’s unpleasant odor irritating the surrounding spectators. As he left the park, Sianis muttered: “The Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more.” The Cubs lost game four, lost the series and did not return to the series until 2016.It would be a massive understatement to say that Cubs fans were nervous for this game. The curse of the billy goat had caused many unfortunate events to spiral through the career of the unlucky Cubs. In 2003, the Chicago Cubs got all the way to the National League Championship Series. Winning this title would mean proceeding the the World Series. Cubs were ahead in this game with a score of 3-0 in a series in which they lead 3-2 to the Miami Marlins. They only needed to win one more game to proceed to the World Series. In the eighth inning, Marlins player Luis Castillo hit a foul fly ball to left field. Chicago left fielder Moisés Alou attempted to catch this ball. However, a fan reached over to grab this souvenir ball, a ball that could have helped Alou secure another out for the Cubs. This fan was Steve Bartman, and this event became infamous in Cubnation as the “Bartman Incident.” Had Alou caught the ball, they would have been only four outs from a win. But instead, the Cubs ended up surrendering eight runs to the Marlins, losing 8-3, and then also losing the seventh game the next day.So poor Steve Bartman became a symbol for the domino effect of the misfortune that existed for the Chicago Cubs. Hopefully he can enjoy that souvenir. Cubs fans have learned not to get their hopes up for much. They are so used to disappointment that they cannot bear the heartbreak of more losses. Fast forward to 2016. The Cubs have had a new manager, Joe Maddon for two years. He has helped them so much. Their roster is complete with incredible outfielders like Dexter Fowler to the quick infielders like Kris Bryant. They even have developed a whole lineup of great pitchers, like Jake Arrieta, famous for his two no hitter games.But even with the perfect roster, Cubs fans were still tense and nervous when going into the series. They were worried their cubbies were going to choke, as that always seems to happen. Cubs fans almost lost hope when the Indians led the series 3-1 by game four. It would take a killer comeback for the Cubs to win. And a killer comeback is what they had. The Cubs won the next two games in order to tie the series 3-3, so only one game was left to determine the winner: game seven.Everyone was expecting a fight from both teams, and that is what fans got. The Cubs led 5-1 by the fifth inning, but when Joe Maddon switched pitchers everything was messed up. The Indians caught up. The game was tied eventually at the ninth inning 6-6. So after a rain delay that just added more tension, they went into the tenth inning. Two outs in the bottom on the tenth, the cubs led 8-7. A hit to third baseman Kris Bryant, he threw it to first baseman Anthony Rizzo, and with that third out they knew they were at last victorious. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series. The Cubs and their dedicated fans celebrated ecstatically as they had finally gotten the title they had been heavily anticipating for 108 years.So hopefully Steve Bartman can have a good, guilt-free night of sleep, because ladies and gentlemen, the curse has been broken. There is something to be learned from the long-suffering of the Cubs fans, because that patience is something that all sports fans can use.