Ending one of the two longest droughts for a World Series victory was on the line last night (Tues) in a Game 7 matchup between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs. The Cubs came out on top to win 8-7 in extra innings.
But these two, century-old Midwest teams know how to play with fans’ hearts strings. And they did it again last night. Mark Urycki of member station WCPN reports
It was not a typical November day in Cleveland: sunny skies, a high of 77 degrees, and the Indians were playing in the World Series. The city is still feeling the warmth of this past summer’s NBA championship.
Thousands of fans gathered outside the stadium watching the TV broadcast and listening to Indians radio broadcaster Tom Hamilton
“You talk about excruciating drama. Whether you’re an Indians fan or a Cubs fan. Boy, this game has had it all here tonight.”
From the very first inning it looks like the Indians surprising playoff run was over but then in the bottom of the 8 th inning tied the game. It took 10 innings before the Cubs could score again and break their 108 year wait.
25 year old Anthony Mendoza crouched down on the ground surprised by the loss. His grandfather raised him to be an Indians fan. He traveled from San Diego to watch a team that overcame injuries to some of its best players to get this far.
“I can’t remember the last we were in the World Series, I know I cried I was 5 - no I was 6- the last they were in the World Series and…I don’t know how to handle it right now. “
Another 25 year old Christian Riley of Berea stood with his father, fighting back tears after what seemed like a magical year for Cleveland.
“I love this team. This is the team I grew up with. I grew up loving baseball. I played since I was three and I always loved the Indians. This is the first time they broke my heart."
Both Indians and Cubs fans know that feeling. In the streets afterwards there appeared to be a lot of respect for kindred spirits. Cubs fan Larry Overstreet came all the way from Milwaukee watch the game in street and expected a disaster that never came. He’s glad he made the trip
“Ten-Fold. Yes, definitely. This is going to be a night – I don’t think I’m going to sleep. No doubt about it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Brothers Jim and Mike Garvey were born in Chicago and their mother raised them as Cub fans. Mike now lives in Cleveland but Jim drove six hours from Chicago today to get here for the game. They were carrying a blue Cubs jacket.
“This is my mother’s jacket,” says Mike. “She used to take us to games at Wrigley.”
If you could talk to her today, what would you tell her?
“I’d say we had a great time. Thanks for making us Cubs fans.”
“It’s unbelievable,” adds Jim, considering Chicago’s win, “I still can’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that last out. I can’t believe it happened.”
Dale Smith of Cleveland and Kyle Baker of Lakewood said they tried to dislike Chicago fans but couldn’t. Baker considered the long odds for the Indians to win after 2 top pitchers suffered injuries just before the playoffs.
“If I were to ask myself when Carrasco broke his finger, if we were in Game 7 with Kluber on the mound, would I take that? Everyday. I would take it so you get what you got and then you go home and shake the other team’s hand and say ‘good luck’.”
“Yeah this is a tough one. That’s why sports are great. Game 7, extra innings, this one’s going to bite hard for a long time but that’s why you live for sports, right?
Christian Riley may have been heartbroken but he was sticking with his team.
“Here they are November 3 rd. It’s the middle of the night November 3 rd and they’re here. They played till the last game of the year. We played a good team
And we played a good team great and we lost to them. That’s baseball.”
The consensus on the streets of Cleveland was that those two young teams will be back in the World Series again next year.