I don’t think I will ever forget Nov. 2, 2016. The night Cubs fans waited for for their entire lives. The night a city came together to celebrate. The night tears of joy fell onto Chicago streets.
I stood in front of Wrigley Field that night, in a hot and sweaty mosh pit of people. The crowd near me was gathered around the one tall man who managed to get internet amidst the swarms of people trying to Snapchat, go live on Facebook and tweet the craziness that surrounded us. That man held his iPhone up for all of us to watch the momentous game being played on the tiny screen. After a while the phone shut off and we were all left watching and waiting for the score on the Wrigley Field marquee to change, showing that the Cubs won the game. When it did, and everyone realized that they actually did it, the crowd went wild. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series for the first time since 1908. They are no longer the lovable losers. They are winners, and so is the city of Chicago.
I spent the next day texting and calling my parents, brother, cousins, best friends – all native Chicagoans who live and breathe Cubbie blue. Most sports championships are about the team: the players, management, coaches and then the fans. But this championship was special. So much news coverage was all about the fans who had waited their whole lives to see the Cubs win – from newborns to a 108-year-old. The loyal fans of the Cubs took a lot of the limelight with this one.
The city held a parade and rally, which five million people attended, making it the seventh largest gathering in human history. First baseman Anthony Rizzo acknowledged the Cubs fan base during his rally speech. “I was here during the bad times and I got so much of the culture of the Chicago Cubs,” Rizzo said. “Every person that has worn this jersey won the World Series with us the other day.”
Nothing brings a city together quite like the Chicago Cubs. Even a White Sox fan will admit that. The only question that remains: can they bring it back next year for round two?