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Common Sense

The Student News Site of Thomas S. Wootton High School

Common Sense

The Student News Site of Thomas S. Wootton High School

Common Sense

Curse Broken: Cubs win it all

Curse+Broken%3A+Cubs+win+it+all

When the baseball hit the leather of first baseman Anthony Rizzo’s glove just after midnight on Nov. 3, the Chicago Cubs became world champions for the first time in 108 years.
For sophomore Lexie Zinselmeier, a Chicago native, there couldn’t be any better ending to the epic, 10 inning-long thriller that was the seventh game of the World Series.
“I was so happy,” Zinselmeier said of the Cubs’ landmark win.
Not since 1908 have the North Siders of Chicago won the World Series. Allegedly, in 1945, the Curse of the Billy Goat was placed on the Cubs when a goat was kicked out of Wrigley Field, the Cubs’ home field. In the years since, the wait for a title has been painful for Chicago fans. The only championships the Cubs won were in movies, notably Back to the Future II and Rookie of the Year, while the real-life club struggled to field a respectable team. This year, with a talented roster and playoff experience, Chicago looked to do the unbelievable and make the curse history.
For most of the season, the Cubs were overwhelming favorites to win the World Series. Chicago won a league-high 103 wins and rolled over the Giants and Dodgers in the first two rounds of the playoffs. But in the Cleveland Indians, the highly favored Cubs met their match.
Cleveland, with a 68-year drought of its own and arguably the best pitching staff in baseball, made a huge statement by winning three of the first four games of the best-of-seven World Series, including two shutouts.
Slowly but surely, the Cubs started a historic rally from the 3-1 deficit. Chicago escaped with a 3-2 victory in game 5 thanks to a stellar performance from closer Aroldis Chapman, then erupted for nine runs in a 9-3 Cubs win in Game 6 to tie up the series.
With momentum on their side and most of America watching, the Cubs jumped on the Indians with a solo home run by Chicago outfielder Dexter Fowler in the first at-bat of the game. By the eighth inning, the Cubs had built a solid 6-3 advantage and were six outs away from the ultimate prize.
The Indians came back in the eighth, tying the game on a two-run home run by Rajai Davis. After a rain delay, the game went into extra innings.
In the 10th inning, the Cubs finally broke the tie. Second baseman Ben Zobrist hit a go-ahead double that scored a run, the first of two runs that inning. Cleveland replied with another run in the 10th, but with two outs Cleveland outfielder Michael Martinez grounded out, giving the Cubs a shocking and epic 8-7 victory.
“I felt bad for Cleveland because it was such a tight series and the fact that they weren’t even done in the bottom of the 10th,” science teacher Jacob Buxton said. “I felt like it could’ve gone either way and it would’ve been valid.”
The Cubs’ championship victory was simply monumental. Chicago fans stormed the streets after the victory and showed up for a exhilarating victory parade on Nov. 4. Experts and fans claimed that the game seven bout was one of the best baseball games ever played.
“I think it’s the biggest game since the Red Sox beat the Yankees in game seven after being down 3-0 to win the AL,” Buxton said. “This game seven and that game seven are in my lifetime the two greatest baseball moments. As far as World Series, this is probably the best.”
Even students who weren’t baseball fans tuned in to the game. “I’m not usually a baseball fan, but I followed this World Series because it was a legendary event,” senior Omar Nunez said. “I’m not going to be the guy who misses the Cubs coming back and winning the World Series for the first time in a hundred years.”
Now, if only the Nationals could win a playoff series…

 

John Riker

Online Editor

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