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What It Would Mean to You if the Cubs Win the World Series, Your Stories...

10/24/2016

When Anthony Rizzo grabbed the throw from Javier Baez for the final out on Saturday night at Wrigley Field the City of Chicago went bonkers. And I mean bonkers in a good way. Moments after seeing people in the stands crying and hugging and singing "Go Cubs Go", I jumped on social media to see the reaction from Cubs fans. Facebook and Twitter lit up with personal stories on what it meant for people for the Cubs advancing to the World Series for the first time in 71 years. The Cubs are now 4 wins away from a World Series Championship that has been a eluding this franchise since 1908. Again, these stories came out from fans after they only advanced to the World Series, they haven't won anything yet.. So I had an idea with what I was witnessing. I would contact the Cubs fans that I know and who have been posting statuses for months wishing for this moment to happen to give their take on what it would mean for them IF the Cubs were to actually win the World Series and provide a photo of them in their Cubs garb.. So here they are, What would it mean to you if the Cubs win the World Series? Here are your stories... Enjoy!

**Feel free and comment with your story if you didn't have one published **

Evan J. Thomas

I am currently a die hard Atlanta Braves fan and have been since the late 80's so you can call me a bandwagon fan but I myself grew up a Cubs fan and standing in my living room with my 11 year old son on Saturday night was an experience I wasn't sure I'd ever see in my lifetime. My Grandpa Richard was a huge Cubs fan and that trickled down to my dad James. My father and uncle Dan took me to my first Cubs game as a 5 year old, I got to go down into the dugout after the game and outside of the players parking lot I got to meet and get an autograph of my favorite player at the time, obscure catcher Barry Foote. My favorite team as a kid was the 1984 Cubs team with Ryne Sandberg, Rick Sutcliffe and the bunch. That team made it to the NLCS and were even up 2 games to 0 going back to San Diego when the wheels fell off and went on to lose the series. I was heartbroken. 1989 happened to the Cubs when they were supposed to be a team of destiny and that team came up short against the San Francisco Giants. That was probably the last time I could call the Cubs my favorite team. I went to Game 1 and 2 of the 2003 NLCS and was a part of the "fans on Waveland Avenue" bunch who stood outside during the game. I recall in 2003 when the Cubs were just 5 outs away, I was pacing back and forth hoping for it to happen and we all know what happened next. If the Cubs were to win it all this year it would be a moment that would be like no other. I had the chance to witness my 1995 Braves win it all but I know this would not be the same. I grew up here in Chicago and have been to hundreds of games, I've had the chance to photograph games, I've sat in the dugout as a kid and as an adult, I've been on the field for Player Photo Day when they used to do that, I've been on a tour of Wrigley Field and got to see the cramped quarters at the time and how the players had to deal with not that ideal of amenities. Witnessing a Cubs World Series Championship would bring back old memories of me wishing for that day to happen and I doubt i'll be able to control my emotions no matter where I am at. And you know what, the Cubs are just 4 wins away from it becoming a reality.

Leticia Becerra

My brother Jeremy and I grew up in North Hammond, Indiana born and raised Cubs fans. For as long as we can remember our Grandfather would talk about how he saw them play in the World Series in 1945 when he was just 15 years old. You could see this gleam in his eye as he reminisced about seeing his Beloved Cubbies. Over the years win or lose we have always stood by our team. My grandfather would always say: I sure hope to see them in play in the World Series again some day. Wouldn’t that be something. I took him to a game just before father’s day, June 17, this year and Holy Cow did we have fun. Not only did they win but it was Willson Contreras first game as a rookie. The crowd went wild to see him come on the field! How exciting to be in that moment with my grandfather. And Willson has played a hell of a season! When the Cubs won last night, the first thing I did was call my brother so we could call my Grandfather together. I was crying, sobbing with joy. Our Grandfather was going to get to see his Cubs once again play in the World Series. He said he never thought he would live to see this day. I plan to watch a World Series game or two with him just so I can see that gleam in his eyes as this I am sure this brings him back to 1945. This is the stuff real memories are made of. Win or lose I am a Cubs fan for life, just like my Grandfather.

Joe Dezonno

The Cubs winning the world series has always been a dream...a family wide dream... I come from a long line of cubs fans...all have played a part in my lifelong fandom from my grandmother to my mother but NONE pointed me in the right direction like my grandfather..did... this was life with him as a child every summer...ill never forget the games he brought me to and the stories he told about baseball in general but of course i always appreciated the cubs stories...unfortunately Grandpa Joe passed away during the 2004 season after yet another heartbreak... 2003 was my biggest heartbreak and that was because i wanted more than anything for him to see it happen...fast forward through 3 more playoff heartbreaks to today..10/24/16...THE CUBS ARE IN THE WORLD SERIES!!!! and a new generation of fan has been born into my family...my son Joey...7 years old and has he taken a liking to daddy's cubbies.. being able to watch this team with him has brought the most joy into my life since the day he was born...what does it mean to me for the cubs to win the world series??? it means everything.. I want my son to have the same memories of my childhood but without the heartbreak...the day after we won the pennant he looked at me and said "daddy,... thats was the best night of my life" thats when i knew i had done my job...the world has another cubs fan! ITS GONNA HAPPEN!!!
Joe Dezonno
Lifelong cubs fan

Maria Atkinson

I was born in 1980, became a fan in 1985 because of my father. We grew up very poor so we never made it to any games at Wrigley. My father had his first stroke in 1994 which put him in a nursing home, he passed in 2009 after his third stroke. Because of my father, I continued watching the Cubs religiously through all the heart breaks. My father's ashes are at my home and I know he's enjoying this World Series ride with me! GO CUBS! Watching the Cubs win the World Series means so much more because of my father.

Greg Janacek

What does a World Series championship for the Cubs mean to me? Simple: Proving to the world that you can end the season with the best record and still come out on top. Sure, ending the curse and the drought will be magical but ask Steph Curry what it is like to end the season w/ the best record but walk away empty handed. I have been saving an article from August that claims "being the best for the Cubs might not be enough". I hope to shred that with a smile. This is a storied season and should end so. Go Cubs!

Sabrina Kline

Being a native Floridian I never cared for sports until I moved to Chicago 15 years ago. I instantly fell in love with all the sports teams that make Chicago what it is but Especially the Cubs! You can literally feel The history and nostalgia of Wrigley Field when you walk into the stadium. For the Cubs to win win the World Series would be such a huge moment in sports history and finally breaking the curse. I see it as a way for Cubs and Sox fans to hopefully come together and unite in the name of baseball and put another legendary team of winners in our city. It's something else we can be proud of and stand up tall and say "I was there!!!" It's going to an amazing story to tell my grand kids that I was in Chicago when they beat the Cleveland Indians in the 2016 World Series and finally broke a 108 year old curse.

Tab Bamford

What would the Cubs winning the World Series mean? Geez... my mind immediately goes to 2 places at the opposite ends of the spectrum. My grandmother, like so many others, loved the Cubs. We watched games together all the time, and she taught me what being a passionate fans is. I wish she was here for this. The other person I think of immediately is my 6-week-old son, who might never know what "the curse" is. I have a 9-year-old son who has seen the Hawks in the Stanley Cup 3 times and thinks that's somehow normal... but the Cubs? I've got a box of Kleenex and a Cuban cigar waiting.

Steve Foster

I first and foremost have been a baseball and Cubs fan for almost 50 years. Over my lifetime, I have witnessed, experienced and enjoyed every other professional sports championship in Chicago except for the Cubs. That includes a couple teams that most people have never heard of before. I have had to watch while many rival teams celebrated championships more than once over the years. I have endured numerous bad seasons, heartbreaking losses and devastating disappointments. The refrain for a very long time was always the same, 'Wait until next year'. While I don't believe in dark clouds, curses or bad luck, I do believe in wise counsel, planning and execution. I think this Cubs team and organization is doing things the right way. So, when I put all that together, I think this World Series championship means so much more to me than just a victory. For me, it's the culmination of a lot of things. May the next generation of Cub fans experience the fruits of a winning culture instead of being considered 'the lovable losers'. May the 'W' flag fly over Wrigley Field for many years to come.

Eric Hausser

Here we go.
Frustration. Heartbreak. Misery. Anger. Anxiety. Impatience. Eternal Hope. All of these encompass what it means to be a Cubs fan. That last one though, hope, is finally paying off. Maybe, just maybe, this is the year. The year that all of those ‘wait ’til next years’ have led up to. I lost my dad in April of this year, and he never got to see this. He was a next level fan. Always had an eye on the minors, kids coming up through the pipeline, new acquisitions for the system, etc. He’d DVR every game and re-watch it before the next. That’s the kind of fan he was. This championship (if they pull it off) means more to me than anything else. It reminds me that generations have come and gone without witnessing what I am fortunate enough to watch, win or lose. So whether this series ends with a parade, or another ‘wait ’til next year’, I’m going to sit back, sip my Old Style, wish my pops was here right next to me (which in some ways I know he is for this), and enjoy the ride. Let’s go Cubbies!

Katelyn Kelley

I’ve been a Cubs fan since I was born. Almost 25 years, a fandom handed down by my mother, which was handed down by hers. My grandmother worked for Wrigley Gum, under William Wrigley Jr. I’ve known no other baseball team growing up, despite being bullied over being a Cubs fan while living on the south side. I went to games regularly as a young child and was forced to watch games on TV, sometimes whether I liked it or not. Until I grew into my teens did I have a true appreciation for the sport and the team. I would go to several games a year and many times, saw them lose. Despite how they did during any particular year, my optimism was always high for what they might accomplish the next year. In 2013 & 2014, I landed a gig taking pictures of fans at games. Each year, we only assumed we wouldn’t work past the end of September. At the beginning of this year, I got hired to work for the team and it’s been a dream come true in so many ways. Never in a million years did I think I’d see the Cubs go to the World Series, let alone work for them and get to see it unfold in front of me. Despite feeling so lucky to be in the position that I am, I can’t stop thinking about my grandmother who is now passed away. She was two years older than I am now when the Cubs last went to the World Series and she never got to see it again. Despite all the bad times I saw in my lifetime, I feel blessed in so many ways to be able to see them go this far and it means the world to me to be able to live through this and hopefully I’ll see many Cubs World Series championships in my lifetime.

Rich Rubalcava

The Cubs winning the world series would mean everything to me a huge baseball fan but also as a grandson , my grandfather who passed 1 year ago told me that if they didn't win by the time he died he would pull some stings to make it happen. He was a man of his word as the very next season we are 4 wins away from making history !! I honestly thought I would never see this happen but here we are about to take in the first game of the series and I already feel complete , I watch the series every year except this year my cubbies are in it!! Only thing better would be my gramps here to watch it with me but I'm sure he is in spirit, Go Cubs Go!

Fran Hochfelder Cotten

Being raised around Chicago Cubs baseball my whole life, the thoughts and feelings of the “Lovable Losers” winning the World Series is unfathomable. It brings a pride of being a Chicagoan, a Cubs fan, and a baseball fan in general. Winning the World Series is a lifelong dream that so many fans have not been able to see. It is the end of an era and the beginning of a dynasty. An invisible weight that all Cubs fans have felt since 1908 can finally be lifted and we can yell from the rooftop bleachers “We are victorious! We are Champions! We are the Chicago Cubs!”

Matt Shepherd

What would the Cubs winning the world series mean to me, well My grandpa who has Parkinson's disease and Hes a big Cubs Fan and he has been all his life so, The cubs winning the world series would mean that hes finally able to watch his team win the world series and Considering the Parkinson's has begun to take over his body that would mean the world to me just because he can see his team win, and well My uncle Bob recently passed away about a month ago and he was a big cubs fan so, For him to Finally be able to witness (not on earth of course) the cubs winning the world series would mean Amazing things. Sincerely, Matthew Shepherd

Jason Michael Braden

To me the Cubs winning the World Series wouldn't just be a long awaited dream for me but for many people not just in the city of chicago but across the world . My late Gloria took me to my first Cubs game I had to be around 4 or 5 years old and still remember grabbing the green rail to hang on walking to our seats , the smell of hot dogs and popcorn while listening to Harry carry singing the 7th inning stretch , I also think this would something to unite Sox/Cub fans . Of course we will always have our crosstown classics but as a city we will have done something only very few cites have been able to do and that's have championship football , basketball ,and 2 World Series team . Theo Epstein said when he got here that change was coming , it wouldn't take one year but it would happen and today starts that day .

Jeff Perricone

What it means to be a Chicago Cubs fan and seeing them go to the World Series. I have been a fan since 1986, my parents brought me to see the Cubs Game at Wrigley and it was a fun time. My older brother was a huge Cub fan which he would keep score of the games and I thought it was cool. I learned the names of the players like Leon Durham, Ron Cey, Jody Davis, Ryan Sandburg, and others. Broadcasters Harry Carey, Jack Brickhouse, Steve Stone, Ron Santo, Ron Coomer, and Pat Hughes. I am a die hard Cub fan win or loose. The play in the worlds greatest baseball park Wrigley Field.

Rob McDonald

For over 45 years I heard maybe next year. In the 70s I loved baseball and I loved the Cubs. My family not much baseball fans, but my friends Jim, Randy, Everett, and little Frankie cheered along with me as well as my coach, their dad. In 84 my then girlfriend now wife suffered with me. We would go to games every year with our sons not much fans. In 2000 we had a baby girl who followed suit not being a baseball fan. But the fever grew in her. In 2015 things started brewing for the fire has started and the Cubs were making things happen. She had experienced her first Cubs collapse. 2016 she now had cubby blue blood flowing through her veins. But on June 27 2016 made here a fan for life. We traveled to Cincinnati and she got the autograph of Kris Bryant. We attended what is now called the Kris Bryant game. We stayed at the same hotel and we able to get up close to her favorite players. She made a connection with Javy Baez his wave and smile made her his fan for life. We have watched games all season long and has given us a summer to remember. Her reading off the line up for me has brought our family closer. All we wait for is that World Series Championship.

Jeff Bukowski

I went to my first game when i was 5, my god the magnificent cathedral that was Wrigley, the sights the sounds, i didn't really know what to expect at that age. Now as i have gotten older, i realize all the history and culture in that stadium. I still think i see and hear my grandfathers voice every time i watch the game, hes been gone since 1994, i really so want them to win for me, for all the people no longer here, and for the people that have waited a long time!! So let's go Cubs!! Lets show the world and all of Chicago what kind of fans and team we are!!

Julian Rosales

I was born and raised 1/2 block away from Wrigley Field. I could literally lower the volume on my TV and still hear the crowd cheering and the organ playing. The Chicago Cubs were my neighbor. My childhood memories consist of sneaking into Wrigley Field, catching balls on Waveland and Sheffield during batter practice and landing my first job around the ball park. The Cubs and Wrigley Field was a part of my life. Winning the World Series would complete everything!

Virginia Brewer

One of my earliest and fondest memories is visiting my grandparents and going camping along the Mississippi River each summer. During those visits the cubs were always playing, usually on both a tv and radio near by. In the camper, at home or in the car. This is how I became a life long Cubs fan. All of my favorite memories growing up involve my family and our love for the Cubs. Harry Caray's voice is someone I can still hear. My grandfather is now 95 years old. My grandmother is 94. Seeing the Cubs advance to the World Series and knowing they both will be able to watch them possibly win the title, is simply indescribable. I have all of these memories with people that I love and the Cubs have always been along for the ride. Simply put, to see them finally get to the dance after all this time, is magic.
Virginia Brewer
Cubs Fan for 40 years

Jim Obos

A Cubs win, a cubs win would be amazing! For me to live in an amazing city all my life, to see championships for every major sports team but the Chicago Cubs up until now ... if they won every relative that had passed, every family member that had always loved the team will be able to say the same thing ... this is the team, this is the year and this is the place! I would be more excited that my father in his life time will be able to say I've seen all my favorite teams in the city I love play the game and win it fir the people and the memories of the people that truly love the city of Chicago!

Jose Santiago, Jr.

The Cubs winning the World Series would me the world to me. I've been watching them since i was a kid and with my son's since their birth. Unfortunately my second oldest son is missing this great experience while away at boot camp for the Marines. So if the Cubs win the World Series it would give me some happiness back.

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