This year's World Series is historic. The Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians, two franchises who are known for losing, are battling in this year's Fall classic and something's gotta give. Both teams have existed for well over 100 years, but they only have two World Series championships each. The Cubs won in 1907 and 1908. The Indians won in 1920 and 1948. One of these teams will get to call themselves World Champions for the first time since many of us have been alive.

The Cubs have gone through so much heartache. It has been 108 years since they last won the World Series. Some blame the infamous Curse of the Billy Goat. The Curse of the Billy Goat was placed on the Cubs in the 1945 World Series by Billy Goat Tavern owner Billy Sianis. Sianis was asked to leave Wrigley Field after the odor of his pet goat, Murphy, bothered the other fans. As he was leaving, an enraged Sianis said, "Them Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more," which has been interpreted as the Cubs will never win another World Series. The Cubs went on to lose that series to the Detroit Tigers and never played in another World Series until now, 71 years later.

But they've come close.

The Cubs were up 3-2 in the series and had a 3-0 lead in the eighth inning of game six of the 2003 NLCS against the then Florida Marlins. Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo hit a foul ball down the left field line near the fans and Cubs left fielder Moises Alou attempted to track hit down. However, a fan named Steve Bartman reached over and caught the ball himself just over Alou's glove. Alou, the rest of the Cubs team, and all the fans at Wrigley were outraged. If Alou caught the ball, there would've been two outs and the Cubs would've been four outs away from winning their first National Pennant since 1945. Instead, the Marlins rallied for eight runs in that inning, following the Bartman incident. The Marlins won game six, then sent the Cubs home in game seven. They also won the World Series that year. Bartman had to be escorted out of the stadium by police. ESPN filmed a 30 for 30 documentary comparing the Steve Bartman incident to the Bill Buckner incident in 1986. A few years later, Cubs fans electrocuted the Steve Bartman ball in an attempt to break the curse.

The Indians have a curse of their own too -- the Curse of Rocky Colavito.

In 1959, Indians outfielder Rocky Colavito was the American League's home run champion, launching 42 long balls. He was very popular among Indians fans and beloved in the city of Cleveland. In 1960, the Indians inexplicably traded him to the Detroit Tigers for Harvey Kuenn. Indians fans were outraged and said that the Tribe will never win a World Series again. The Indians won the American League Pennant in 1995 and again in 1997, but lost both times in the World Series to the Atlanta Braves and the Florida Marlins respectively.

Now that you know a little bit about the history of the Cubbies and the Tribe, let's take a look at the current version of the teams.

The Cubs had the best record in the majors this year winning 103 games and only dropping 58. They are managed by Joe Maddon, who led the Tampa Bay Rays to the World Series in 2008 but ultimately lost. The Cubbies easily won the NL Central division by 17.5 games over the second place St. Louis Cardinals. They were led by a phenomenal starting rotation featuring Jon Lester (19-5, 2.44 ERA) and Jake Arrieta (18-8, 3.10 ERA). Kyle Hendricks, Jason Hammel, and John Lackey rounded out the rotation. Hendricks led the majors with an earned run average of 2.13. Lester was right behind him, finishing second in ERA with 2.44. Offensively, the Cubs were led by a couple of rising stars. Kris Bryant, 24, and Anthony Rizzo, 27, put up huge numbers to lift the Cubs to their first National League Pennant in 71 years. Bryant hit .292 with 39 home runs, which was good for the third most long balls in the National League, and 102 runs batted in. Rizzo also hit .292 and smacked 32 home runs to go along with 109 runs batted in. The Cubs made it to the World Series by beating the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS three games to one and outlasting the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS in six games.

The Indians finished with a record of 94-67, winning the AL Central over the Detroit Tigers by eight games. The Indians were led by ace pitcher Corey Kluber, who posted an 18-9 record with a 3.14 ERA. He finished second in the American League in wins (18), fourth in ERA (3.14) and fifth in strikeouts (227). Offensively, the Tribe was led by first baseman Mike Napoli, who hit 34 home runs with 101 runs batted in, designated hitter Carlos Santana, who hit 34 home runs with 87 runs batted in, and second baseman Jason Kipnis, who hit 23 home runs with 82 runs batted in. Also, Indians outfielder Rajai Davis led the American League with 43 stolen bases. They are managed by two-time World Series Champion Terry Francona, who has experience ending curses, as he ended the Boston Red Sox 86-year World Series championship drought in 2004. The Tribe got here by sweeping the Red Sox in the ALDS and beating the Toronto Blue Jays in five games in the ALCS.

The series is tied 1-1. The Indians took game one off the bat of catcher Roberto Perez who smashed a couple of homers, and a stellar performance from Kluber. Jake Arrieta dominated game two to even it up for the Cubs. The series now shifts to Wrigley for the first time in 71 years. One of these teams will be immortalized in the coming days. The other, will continue the years of suffering with yet another letdown.