Growing up in Chicago I have always been a Chicago sports fan. For my family though, we were most invested in the Blackhawks and the Cubs. I was incredibly lucky to be living in Chicago during the time when the Blackhawks won three Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013 and 2015. It was an amazing experience to go to celebration parades and to cheer for my team with millions of my best friends. With the Hawks being the only decently successful team in Chicago's recent history, they were really the only team I saw into the playoffs (until now...).
I graduated high school and moved to Cleveland in 2014 for college. I was under the assumption that Cleveland sports were as mediocre as Chicago's were...so I was not concerned about being a Chicago sports fan in a different city. But then, earlier this year, the Cavs won the NBA Championships. Chicago was not in it, not even close, and besides, I wan't even THAT big of a basketball fan anyway, so I was more than happy to root for the Cavs,and I was happy when they won (even though I kinda do like the Warriors... but anyway). I was happy for them!
This was all fine and good. I was becoming good at rooting for teams in two cities. But then, as baseball regular season came to an end, I got increasingly nervous, and excited. It was beginning to look like the Cubs were going to advance to the NLCS. And then, as I continued watching the Cubs, my entire city was watching the Indians win the ALCS. And all at once, my most best and worst moment came true. The Cubs have not been to the World Series since 1945. And now they are in it, against Cleveland, who hasn't been in since 1997. What are the odds, of all of the teams, the exact city I move to is the one to play against my Cubs. For the first time, I was going to experience what it was like to "live in enemy territory".
1. So much FOMO. Living in Cleveland, watching everyone in Chicago watching the games together, celebrating together. Seeing pictures of the city all decorated. It was the picture of the art institute lions with their Cubs hats on that almost did me in. I AM MISSING EVERYTHING. No one understands the struggle. Luckily I had a few friends from Chicago at school, and we were able to FOMO together, which made it a little less bad. I really had to use some self control to not buy airfare to fly home to watch games 3-5 or for the parade.
2. Wanting to go downtown Cleveland with friends to watch the game, but being afraid of getting beaten up, or heckled. Despite this, I went to the Watch Party for Game 3 in Progressive Field. At my school alone, a decent amount of people are from Chicago, so I expected to see at least a few other Cubs fans in the stadium...nope. The stadium sold out for this event, and I swear, I never saw another Cubs fan. I felt alone, very alone. My boyfriend, an Indians fan, even shushed me from yelling too loudly when the Cubs did something good, out of slight fear for my safety. I was rather outnumbered, and sad. When an entire stadium is cheering when your team makes an error...it's weird and sad.
3. Having to explain certain things about the Cubs to unknowing Clevelanders. Yes, there is a curse. It's about a goat. Wrigley Field is just the coolest, ok? Ivy. And a dope scoreboard. The Cubs actually used to suck, and did so for a very very very long time. Harry Caray is a name you should know. What rooftops are. Things like this.
4. Posting social media, pro-Cubs of course, to an unwelcoming response. Everyone always liked my Blackhawks stuff...?!
5. Amazement at the integrity and sportsmanship of Cleveland fans. When all was said and done, once the initial shock and anger of the results wore off, almost every Indians Fan I encountered gave me some variation of the following, "I'll tell you this once, Congratulations. It was one hell of a series."
That it was. That it was.
