The last time the Cubs won the series was back in 1908. The last time they even were in contention was back in 1945 when they tragically lost in game seven against the Tigers with the final score coming out to 9-3.
Everyone loves an underdog. Going into the series, the Indians seemed to be fit opponents for the Cubs, taking home the first win of the series. The Cubs came back to take game two to tie things up.
It wasn't until the end of game four when most Cubs fan began to grow discouraged, with the Indians clinching three of the required four games necessary to win the title. Game five could have been the end of the 2016 World Series.
The Cubs' win truly was an underdog story, with back-to-back wins in both game five and game six, they seemed to be getting into a groove and playing as a team. Game seven was quite honestly a match for the history books.
Only six times, in the entire history of the World Series, have teams come back from a 3-1 loss to take back the series. In game seven, the stakes were high and you could feel the tension in the stadium as the game started. Celebrities from all over flew in to Cleveland to watch the game that would ultimately end it all.
Right from the get-go, things picked up. Fowler hit a solo home run in the top of the first and Cleveland tied things back up at the bottom of the third. By the end of the fourth inning, it seemed like Chicago had it in the bag, holding a 3-1 lead.
To start off the fifth inning, Báez smacked a homer to center field and gave the Cubs a 5-1 advantage. With such a high lead however, Chicago began to loosen up and with a few errors, the Cubs started slipping and were only leading by two at the end of the fifth inning.
In the top of the sixth, Ross hit a solo home run that put the Cubs on top with three and they held that lead until the bottom of the eighth when Davis hit his first post-season home run, which sent in to runs, and Guyer's double hit a run in.
With a tied score at the top of the ninth, the game was extremely up in the air. Rain started to pour and was super reflexive of everyone's mood that was tuning in. The game could've gone either way. The scoreless inning, mostly in part of a failed bunt, brought the game into extra innings, but not before taking a break for the rain to die down.
In the top of the tenth, with one out, and a runner on second, the Indians walked Rizzo to get to Zobrist who managed to smack a double towards left field, sending the man on second home. After another intentional walk—this time Russel—the bases were loaded and Chicago had one out. With Montero up to bat, a single between shortstop and third sent another runner at third in giving the Cubs a two-run lead over the Indians.
The Cubs managed to get two outs to start the bottom of the tenth, but had some trouble with the third. Guyer, having been walked, stole second base and a solid single from Davis knocked him in putting the Cubs in a tight situation. After a pitching change, the final out of the game ensued.
The curse is broken and Chicago is celebrating like there's no tomorrow. The crowd outside Wrigley was packed with Chicago fans that seemed more than ready to begin the festivities. It was a wild game, an emotional rollercoaster ride, and as Rizzo said at the top of the tenth, "a glass case of emotion," but now that the season is officially retired, hopefully the Cubs can relax and come back next year stronger than ever.
