The Cubs Win the 2016 World Series!

The Cubs Win the 2016 World Series!

Well…it finally happened. The Cubs won the World Series, and Cub fans like me are happy. Some of us have waited a long time. The silly days of curses, “loveable losers,” goats, and black cats we’ve had to endure all our lives has finally come to an end. For the Cubs to end a 108-year curse, all they had to do is play one of the greatest World Series Game Seven ever. The confluence of history, hype, intensity, and drama is hard to put to words. Talk about story lines! They were everywhere! Even fans with no rooting interest in either team are emotionally drained today. For Cub fans, the memory will last forever, and nothing will take it away.

Thanks to my Old Time Baseball Photos partner, Ron Bolton – a diehard Mets fan no less! – for sending me this great photo brilliantly photo shopped by our resident baseball artist, researcher, and friend, Don Stokes. Be sure to click on the photo for a much better view. It’s a scene from the 1908 World Series with the 2016 World Series Championship superimposed. Thanks Ron! Thanks Don!

And before I say another word, how about the Tribe? Let’s tip our hats to a great team. They left it all on the field in this series and they and their fans – many who loyally read this page – can hold their heads high. They have nothing to be ashamed of and deserve our most heartfelt congratulations for a wonderful season and for playing an instant classic World Series. They got this far without their best player and two of their top pitchers. What a testament to a great organization. It’s just a shame one team had to win and one team had to lose. Anyone who’s been a fan of this game for any length of time has been on the “short end” at one time or another and knows the disappointment Tribe fans are experiencing today. This team will be back.

I also think it’s a good time to reflect on why we love this game so much. Why does it have such an emotional hold on us? I don’t pretend to have the answer. Is it because it’s the game we played as kids with our friends and we’re reconnecting with our youth? Is it because of the wonderful “baseball transcends generations thing”: grandfathers – fathers – sons and daughters – and we’re subconsciously reconnecting with those we love who are no longer with us? Is it because of our extended family members who took us to our first games? Those loved ones who showed up at our Little League games? Is it because of the older brother who always had time to play catch with us in the backyard? Is it because the game allows us an opportunity to engage in healthy competition while temporarily escaping from life’s often cruel realities? I’m not sure. Maybe it’s a little bit of all these things, and more. Whatever it is, it’s there. It’s real. And we’re the all better for it because we’re baseball fans.

I love baseball and its storied history – as imperfect as it is, flaws and all – as I know you all do. I love “baseball banter” and the good-natured “give-and-take” between fans of different teams. And I love being around baseball fans. Never more so than now. As I always say, I don’t care what team someone roots for. I just love the emotions that this great game is able to pull out of us. The emotional ups and downs. I don’t even care if another baseball fan hates the Cubs. I’m just always glad to hear someone’s a baseball fan. I know we’ll have a lot in common and we’ll always have something to talk about.

Let’s all celebrate this wonderful moment…OK, it’s more special for Cub fans like me…but this is a great day for all baseball fans. This was a “World Series for the Ages,” an instant classic. It’s a time for all of us to give thanks to that special someone in our past who took the time to introduce us to this wonderful game. As we all celebrate in our own way, take a moment to think about that person today.

Feel free to add any comments below.

-Gary Livacari