What a Cubs World Series Would Mean to Me

As Cubs playoff fever takes over Chicago, one fan reflects on his lifelong quest to #FlyTheW

What would a Cubs World Series would mean to you? Send your story or photos to tips@nbcchicago.com. 

When you grow up a Chicago Cubs fan, there are moments when you allow yourself to dream about what it would be like to see the team, flailing like crazy at the pitcher’s mound, celebrating their World Series championship.

If you allow it, your brain can go even further into that fantasy, as you imagine players spraying champagne in each other’s faces, the inevitable parade that will bring the entire city of Chicago to a standstill amid a tsunami of blue hats and readily available tears, and the thought of that golden World Series trophy being raised above the heads of the team that has caused you so much suffering over the years.

Growing up, I very rarely indulged in those fantasies. I still don’t.

That’s because the Cubs have historically been a team that has been expected to fail. I wasn’t around for 1969 or 1984 (although I inherited a strong disdain for Steve Garvey from my father), but I do remember the sweeps at the hands of the Braves (1998), Diamondbacks (2007) and Dodgers (2008).

I also remember the really gut-wrenching losses. The Florida Marlins debacle in 2003. The sweep at the hands of the New York Mets in 2015. Those kinds of moments are critical to my explanation of what it’s like to be a Cubs fan, and they’ve all shaped my fandom and even my relationship with the team.

This year’s team, however, has allowed me to begin to really dream, to really imagine what it would be like when the day finally comes that the Cubs win a World Series title. [[393634811, C]]

I think about the moment of sheer jubilation that would ensue, similar to what I experienced when the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010 or when the Chicago Bulls used to run roughshod over the rest of the NBA while “Roundball Rock” played on a perpetual loop in my brain.

I honestly think that emotion would be just the tip of the iceberg, however. All of the pain inflicted by the Cubs over the course of my 31 years would somehow all be validated at once, and in that rush of emotion, I dare to say that I would likely shed some tears at the thought of this team, MY team, doing what I used to think was likely impossible.

Tears and emotions aside, the things that I really like to imagine, even more so than popping champagne bottles with my friends and rushing to a sporting goods store to buy every conceivable piece of Cubs championship merchandise imaginable, are the phone calls that I would make to my parents and to my grandfather.

My parents basically raised me to root for the Cubs, saying that often times if I was fussy as a baby I would calm down when Cubs games would come on (and yes, they were still all day games at Wrigley Field back then - I’m that old), and I have plenty of pictures of my infant self in a Cubs onesie or even wearing one of those plastic Cubs helmets that one could get with a sundae at the local Dairy Queen.

Over the years, I’ve needled them a lot about raising me into this lifestyle (my father especially), but sharing that kind of a moment with the people who always nurtured that love and consoled me when things went wrong (as they so often did) would be a truly watershed moment in my life.

The next phone call would be to my grandfather, who got this whole weird trip started for our family. Even after moving to Arizona in the 1980’s, he still follows the Cubs and texts me every so often about their exploits on the field. I get the sense that even though he roots for the Diamondbacks now, when the teams face each other in Phoenix, he still would take a lot of satisfaction not just in the joy that it would bring him, but also in the joy that it would provide for members of our family.

That, I think, is the biggest takeaway that any of us could have if and when the Cubs finally break through and win a championship. Sure, celebrating on our own would be perfectly great, with plenty of Old Style and tears flowing, but doing so with the people we love and hold dear in our hearts would make it mean even more, and that feeling of community celebration is something that we should all look forward to if this magical group of players and coaches can do the unthinkable and win a title that many of us never thought we would live to see.

Contact Us