The last time the Chicago Cubs won the World Series was 108 years ago, but that changed on November 2 as the Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians in seven games, coming back from a 3-1 game deficit.
The 108 year gap was the longest drought for any sports team to go without a championship. The 108 years was known as “the curse.” The curse had many people believing that a World Series ring for the Cubs was never going to happen.
“I never thought the Cubs had a chance trailing 3-1 in the series, I always thought that they would be cursed as long as they were a franchise,” sophomore John Powers said,“But I am happy they broke the curse.”
The curse was started by a guy named Billy Sianis in 1945. He owned a tavern called the Billy Goat Tavern. He brought his pet goat into the game and got kicked out, and so he cursed the franchise. The curse only got worse in 2003, when a fan named Steve Bartman got in the way of Cubs outfielder Moises Alou while he was going to catch a foul ball. He he not interfered with the player they would have gone to their first World Series since 1945, and would have had a chance to win their first championship since 1908.
“It is surreal, to not have won one in so long and finally pull one out.” Reynolds teacher and Cubs fan Cristofer Wiley said.
Coming back from a 3-1 series deficit is awfully tough to do. Not many teams have been able to come back from a 3-1 deficit. Teams up 3-1 have a 87.5% chance to win the series according to whowins.com, making the odds of a comeback very slim.
“I honestly have no clue how they did it, all odds were against them down 3-1 and with the curse,” Powers said. “The curse had to be on every single player’s mind in that dugout and on the field. I was in shock.”
What everyone is wondering is whether they can win it again next year. To do so they will need to keep all the pieces together. With 15 free agents going into the offseason, they will need to do some work to try to resign some players. A key player who will be a free agent is Dexter Fowler, who bombed a home run to start off game seven.
“I think they could win it again next year.” junior John Guarantano said, “They have a lot of players returning but they do need to sign back their free agents and also need some bullpen work.”
The Cubs have a ton of pressure to win the World Series again next year. Many people have said they have broke the curse, but it could still be lingering over the franchise.
“They will have to show everyone they can do it again,” Guarantano said.
All eyes will be on the Cubs going into the 2017 season, looking to start off right where they left off.
Photo from NY Daily News