For most baseball fans, there's at least one team championship that they can remember from their lifetime. Or from their parent's lifetime. Or their grandparent's lifetime. For Cubs fans, unless you were around during the first World War, this is simply not the case. It has been seemingly an eternity since their team last emerged victorious from the World Series. This year is burned into cultural lore: 1908. 108 years ago. That's almost hard to fathom for a Mets fan whose team has not won the World Series in 30 years, a time frame that, compared to 108 years, is merely chump change.
I have never actively rooted for the Cubs in my life, especially not when they played the Mets in the 2015 postseason. But even I have to admit that this postseason, they have my full support. Why? Because I'm used to rooting for the underdog, and at 108 years and counting since their last World Series title, the Chicago Cubs are the ultimate baseball underdogs.
There's something admirable about a fan base that sticks loyally by its team through decades of not reaching the pinnacle of success, while attending games in a hallowed stadium that is the second oldest stadium in baseball. The legends of the Cubs' World Series drought and the Curse of the Billy Goat are so entrenched in society that they have almost become cliches. They may not have won the World Series since 1908, but the Cubs haven't even appeared in the World Series since 1945, the same year as the alleged "Billy Goat Curse." If the Cubs win the World Series, it will signify the end of these hallowed legends, but also the ultimate triumph over decades of disappointment. It would be a celebration not only for Cubs fans, but for baseball fans rooting for a team that is well overdue for a championship. It would be genuine excitement for a sport that many accuse of being "boring" or "not as popular as football". Baseball as a whole would be thoroughly energized by a Cubs World Series title.
Of course, the Cubs aren't the only baseball team in the postseason dealing with a long championship drought. The Cleveland Indians, who could potentially face the Cubs in a World Series matchup, currently hold the second longest streak of seasons without a World Series title at 67. Of course, that's still decades shorter than the Cubs' streak, but it certainly would be interesting to see these two teams face off in the World Series and know that whoever wins, a major streak will be broken. Though I obviously have no personal influence on either of these droughts, I feel that I would be internally proud if either team won the World Series.
Despite this, the Cubs' drought has a much larger stigma and aura surrounding it than does the Indians' drought, which has given the Cubs' drought significantly more attention over the years. I have nothing against the Cleveland Indians, but they've got a ways to go before their championship drought is mentioned in the next Back to the Future movie.
I know the Cubs technically haven't even made it to the World Series yet, but if there's any team in baseball this year that I'm genuinely hoping wins it all, it's the Cubs. They deserve to taste the glory of a title, their fans deserve to be rewarded for their relentless devotion, and baseball deserves to crown a new, exciting World Series champion.
