World Series: Wild celebrations in Chicago as curse is lifted

Long-suffering Cubs fans’ 108-year wait for championship ends

CHICAGO: After waiting 108 years, Chicago erupted in euphoric celebration following the Cubs’ historic win of the World Series baseball championship.

The streets around the Cubs’ historical home stadium Wrigley Field were covered with thousands of jubilant fans, as fireworks lit up the sky. Car horns blared throughout the city, and cheering crowds spilled from bars and viewing parties.

“People have been waiting for this for a long time,” said Stephen Hill, owner of Brendan’s Pub — a sports bar which filled to capacity with fans glued to the tense game that ended with an 8-7 Cubs win in 10 innings.

The Cubs hadn’t appeared in Major League Baseball’s World Series since 1945 and last won the championship in 1908 — when Theodore Roosevelt was president.



Local lore blames the Cubs’ losing streak on the “Curse of the Billy Goat”, allegedly placed on the team by a vexed Billy Sianis, owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, after being thrown out of a game in 1945 due to a foul-smelling pet goat.

The wait ever since has been agonising for generations of Chicagoans, who stayed loyal even as the team lost more than it won.

Even presidential candidate Hillary Clinton — a Chicagoan and a Cubs fan — paused on the campaign trail to root for her home team.



President Barack Obama, who is also a Chicagoan but a supporter of the city’s rival South side team the White Sox, nevertheless offered his congratulations via Twitter.

“That’s change even this South Sider can believe in. Want to come to the White House before I leave?” Obama wrote.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2016.   

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.