On Monday evening, over a thousand fans showed up at the Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg to snag a photo op with the World Series trophy. For many Cubs fans, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity -- and one they just couldn't pass up.

The trophy was originally scheduled to be at the Center from 5 to 7 pm, but officials allowed fans to begin congregating inside the building's auditorium at 1 pm in order to shelter them from the cold. At 2 pm, the auditorium almost filled each of 440 seats, and by 4 pm, over a hundred fans were gathered within the roped lines outside.

At about 7 pm, the line outside was significantly shortened.

Although most spirits were high due to the mere hope at catching a glimpse of the trophy, the dropping temperatures made waiting a difficult task. At one point, fans began to chant "let us in" in pure frustration.

Once the initial 400 people were through, the police officers began to let about 20 people in at 5 minute intervals to keep the line moving.

It even snowed for a considerable amount of time, causing many toes to numb and many fans to leave. The pain didn't stop Cassidy, a die-hard Cubs fan from Bartlett, to have a chance at seeing the trophy in person.

"Waiting for three hours was cold and miserable," she describes. "but it was all worth it because it was one beautiful hunk of metal. I was honored to have my picture taken with it since it's a part of history."

Cassidy with the trophy.

Once the initial wave of people inside the auditorium were finished, officers began to allow fans to wait inside in groups of 20 at a time.

Waiting became much easier once fans were inside.

Nevertheless, over a thousand elated fans were able to stand side-by-side and pose for a photo with the iconic World Series trophy, further fueling the passion held by these dedicated Cubs fans.