The Chicago Cubs–the blue-clad boys who honed losing to an art form–beat the favored Braves in Atlanta, moving a step closer to the National League pennant and mending many a heart broken over the years.
“This is freaking nuts,” shouted Darrin Hofer, 34, celebrating in the right-field bleachers in Atlanta as fans sprayed beer around him. “This is crazy and it’s awesome. I wouldn’t want to be any other place right now.”
In Wrigleyville, fans filled the streets, lighting sparklers and holding up boards marked “Got Wood” in honor of victorious Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood.
At a bar near Clark and Division Streets, people jumped on pool tables and danced to “Sweet Home Chicago.”
Joe Villarreal, 29, of Villa Park celebrated his birthday on Saturday, but Sunday was when he got his real surprise.
“To see them win normally is a big deal, but to see them go to the National League Championship Series, that is the greatest present I could have gotten,” he said.
While the players and their bats had a lot to say about the Cubs 5-1 victory, the fans, their love and positive vibes, deserve a bit of credit.
Not to mention the array of superstitions.
At a Wrigleyville bar, Frank Hines wore the Kerry Wood jersey he’s put on for each game this season, the one he has yet to wash.
In the Gold Coast, Cubs fans celebrating the Jewish High Holy Days managed to sit through synagogue during the game with the aid of text messages sent to cell phones and pagers.
Updates spread quickly from row to row at Chicago Sinai Temple by whisper and the occasional hand signal, leading one temple member to wonder aloud why the rabbi wasn’t announcing the score at intervals.
By the ninth and final inning, with the Cubs up 5-1, police began to move into position throughout Wrigleyville. Police cars swarmed to most intersections, as people in the bars prepared for a mass exodus into the streets.
Diana Nwankwo, 41, clanging a cowbell in the top of the ninth, said she was living the “ultimate dream.”
“I think we’re going to go to the World Series this year, I really do,” she said. “It’s gonna be hard, but we’re gonna do it.”
