It’s been over 107 years since the last time the Cubs won the World Series. The closest team to that outrageous drought are the Cleveland Indians with 67 years, who the Cubs are contending with for the World Series title this season.
As a kid living in the Midwest, professional sports were a huge deal to me and my peers. Every Monday morning of high school, the halls were filled with smelly, pimply adolescents reenacting the most memorable plays from the pro football games that took place the day before.
And living in Illinois (which for those of you who haven’t been there, it’s just Iowa with the city of Chicago, and if you haven’t been to Iowa, you aren’t missing much), the two closest teams for baseball were the Chicago White Sox, and the cursed Chicago Cubbies.
The unfortunate fate of the Cubs is basically a meme to people in the Midwest. They are basically written out of every postseason because of their long history of simply losing. They are tied for the third most National League pennants with 17, but the last time they went to the World Series was in 1945, three years before the Indians last won.
Six games have been played so far, and the Cubs are tied at 3-3 in the best of seven series. As a lover of drama, I’m perfectly okay that this series is being drawn out and going the distance. Several of the wins for both teams have been in convincing fashion, with the Tribe winning 6-0, and the Cubs 5-1 in the beginning of the series.
A good friend of mine has lived in Chicago her whole life, on the South Side where the White Sox play. She said that the mood in Chicago is mixed and while the majority seem to be rallying behind the Cubs, of course not all are. Apparently there are bars that are giving free beers for every run that the Cleveland Indians score, so the consensus isn’t unanimous.
A huge majority of people I went to school with were fans of the White Sox over the Cubs, although baseball wasn’t nearly as popular as football.
I remember a teacher I had in middle school was an unabashed Cubs fan and proudly flaunted it, despite my memories of students occasionally ribbing him for being a fan of the most unsuccessful baseball team in the MLB. Mr. Distler, if you read this, I hope you have a chance to fly your white flag with a large “W” four times this week.
Although I’m not a big baseball fan, I do find a certain pleasure in rooting for the underdog, even if it usually results in disappointment. So, like many other “Cub fans” climbing out of the woodwork, I will happily be pulling for the Cubs, despite the fact that my Grandpa is a lifelong Indians fan.