FanPost

A Superstitious Cubs Fan Pulls Out All The Stops During 2016 Title Run

By Bob Birge

It can now be revealed for the first time.

I am the person most responsible for Cubs winning the World Series in 2016, not Anthony Rizzo or Kris Bryant or Jon Lester or Grandpa Rossy -- me.

After the Cubs were shut out in games two and three of the NLCS, I decided I had to take matters into my hands, change things up. I ventured into New York City from my home in Connecticut to watch game four at the Reservoir Bar on University Place, a place I knew from my days living in Jersey City from 1997-2004.

I chose the Reservoir because it was only three blocks from Union Square, meaning a short walk to get the subway back to Grand Central.

The Cubs rolled in Game Four, winning 10-2 to even the series so of course I had to return to the Reservoir for game five but the vibe was not right. They had the sound on for the Bears' Thursday night game and no one seem to be interested in the Cubs' game.

Thus, I knew I had to leave and so with the game tied 1-1 in the middle of the fifth, I took a cab over to Kelly's in the heart of the East Village on Avenue A.

I discovered Kelly's, supposedly the only Cubs' bar in Manhattan, a couple years earlier and it might be my very favorite bar in the entire City -- cozy, friendly, welcoming, not unlike the Friendly Confines themselves, where people like to watch sports, especially the Cubs.

I swear this is true. In the Cubs' first at-bat with me in the bar, Addison Russell hit a two-run home run in the top of the sixth to put the Cubs up 3-1.

The place erupted. I think the noise could be heard all the way back to Wrigley Field. I also think every Cubs' fan east of the Mississippi River was in this bar.

You saw the wanting, the longing, how much this team meant to these people, how much they wanted the Cubs to win. I have always said there are no fans anywhere like Cubs' fans. They were in on every pitch.

You knew 2016 had a chance to be a special year for the Cubs and I decided that if this was going to be the season when the unthinkable happened, I wanted to be able to say I was at Wrigley during the year when it happened.

So I saw two games against the Cardinals in August. I was going to pull out all the stops so after getting into Chicago on a Thursday night,I went to the legendary Billy Goat Tavern on Lower Michigan to watch the end of the first game of the series, maybe my attempt to end the curse of the Billy Goat.

It doesn't get better. Drinking Old Styles, lots of them, I saw the Cubs walk off the Redbirds 4-3 on a bases-loaded walk in the 11th for their 10th straight win. On Friday, the Cubbies routed the Cardinals 13-2, blasting five home runs to extend the winning streak to 11 games.

Yeah, special team. Perfect Storm brewing in Wrigleyville.

After Russell put the Cubs ahead 3-1 in game five, they added five runs in the eighth and held off the Dodgers 8-4 to move within one game of their first pennant since 1945.

They played the Cubs' anthem, Go Cubs Go, fans waved a "W" flag and some girls danced. The noise really could be heard all the way back to Wrigleyville.

Now I had no choice. I returned to Kelly's for game six. I arrived at 3 o'clock for an 8 o'clock game. I needed to be assured of a seat and I needed to be properly lubricated.

This game was really over after the Cubs jumped out to a 3-0 in the second inning as Kyle Hendricks was masterful, allowing only two hits over 7 1/3.

With the Cubs up 5-0 in the seventh, I wanted to call my brother, who only lived two blocks away, to share the experience with me. I did not because they last time I did that with the Cubs on the verge of the World Series disaster happened.

Oct. 14, 2003, game six NLCS, Cubs up 3-0 on the Marlins, Cubs five outs away from the World Series, Wrigleyville ready to celebrate. I was watching in a bar in Battery Park, don't remember the name of it

"John," I said, breathlessly. "The Cubs are five outs away from the World Series. Come here, come quick. History is happening."

Well, you know what really happened. Bartman happened. The Marlins scored eight runs in the eighth inning, won game six 8-3. It was like a funeral, a train wreck, at Wrigley.

The Cubs jumped ahead 5-3 in game seven but blew that lead as well as the Marlins won game seven 9-6, then beat the Yankees in six games to claim their second World Series title.

So, 13 years later, I dared not call my brother. I watched the final innings alone. I had to.

When Aroldis Chapman got Yasiel Puig to ground into that double play, it was as if time had stood still. People hugged, they embraced. They sprayed champagne.

And the noise was even louder than from two nights earlier. Again, they played Go Cubs Go, again people flew the "W". Now I think every Cubs' fan east of the Rocky Mountains was in this bar.

You saw the joy, the pure unadulterated joy, some people crying. I am reminded of my all time favorite quote attributed to Lord Tennyson: "I am a part of everything I have met."

I wanted to be a part of this. I was. It truly was one of the most surreal experiences of my life.

Now 3-0 watching the Cubs in NYC in the 2016 playoffs and perhaps tempting fate and going to the well too often, I came back to Kelly's for game three of the World Series.

Bad decision. The Cubs were miserable, losing 1-0 to fall behind the Indians two games to one. I couldn't go to Kelly's following a loss and the Cubs were worse in game four, losing 7-2.

I was too nervous to go Kelly's for elimination games. Think I made the right choice: the night of Nov, 2, 2016 -- and early morning of Nov. 3 -- will go down as the greatest night in the history of sports in Chicago, the night the Cubs won the World Series for the first time since Nineteen Hundred and Eight.



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