MLB teams
ESPN.com news services 7y

Cubs fans celebrate team's 1st World Series berth since 1945

MLB, Chicago Cubs

CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs fans have waited 71 years to celebrate a return to the World Series.

Overjoyed fans streamed out of Wrigley Field on Saturday night after the Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series to earn their first trip to the World Series since 1945. 

A majority of the crowd celebrated the victory peacefully. Many took selfies in front of the stadium and hugged one another. 

Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says "it was a very safe and enjoyable celebration'' Saturday night.

He says officers made only six misdemeanor arrests in a crowd they estimated at 30,000. Arrestees were cited for unlawful sale of tickets, obstructing traffic, disorderly conduct and other misdemeanors.

Some also broke out in song, while others shook up beer bottles and sprayed the crowd. Police officers, including about a dozen cops on horseback, kept a close eye on the crowd. And some officers were seen giving high-fives to fans as they walked by.

Dorothy Farrell, a 90-year-old season-ticket holder was beaming with jubilation in a front-row seat.

Fox Sports interviewed Farrell after the Cubs won Game 6 of the NL Championship Series on Saturday night in Chicago. She says she's not worried about the Cleveland Indians, who the Cubs will face Tuesday in Game 1.

As Farrell put it, "I just wished wish my brothers were alive to see this ... They loved the Cubs. And my father did too. But they're all dead now. This old lady's still living.''

When asked how she would celebrate the win, she said: "I'll probably have a Jagermeister.''

Cubs fan Brian Dusza, who was at Wrigley for Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, never thought he'd see the team win the National League pennant.

"I never thought I'd see it,'' Dusza, 49, said after attending Saturday's game. "I can't even describe what I'm feeling.''

Ed Koenig of Darien, Illinois, was among the few thousand fans who stayed in their seats an hour after the game ended.

His eyes welled up as he talked about his father, who died in May.

"He never got to see this,'' Koenig said. "I haven't been to a game this season without him, and when my friend won a lottery for these tickets, I thought 'how am I going to go without my dad?'''

But his friend convinced him to go. "I have his watch on,'' Koenig said, showing off the watch on his wrist. "I thought I was going without my dad, but I'm with him.''

Before the game, Steve Zucker said he would go to his father's grave and leave him a Cubs hat and T-shirt -- if the Cubs won.

"My dad died playing cards, listening to the game on a little transistor radio, so I may bring that, too,'' Zucker said.

Pitcher Jon Lester said after the game Saturday that Cubs fans have been "unbelievable'' all season.

"[The fans] have done nothing but support us from Day 1. ... Words can't really describe where I'm at right now,'' Lester said.

Cubs All-Star third baseman Kris Bryant said the chants of "M-V-P'' gave him chills, adding that "you never play for those awards, but for these people to chant that, it's unbelievable.''

After the game, Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks said this win and trip to the World Series was for the fans.

"I hope they enjoy this. They have been waiting a long time,'' Hendricks said. "Best fans in the baseball, most dedicated fans, and they deserve a lot more of these.''

Even the fan who watched the game from the infamous "Steve Bartman seat" -- named for the beleaguered fan who deflected a foul ball in the 2003 NLCS, which spurred a Miami Marlins rally in that series -- understood the historic nature of the evening.

"I'm thrilled. I love the Cubs. I love the city,'' the fan said. "So my wife and I got an 8-month-old baby, so this is pretty special, pretty special time for all of us.''

The Cubs will face the Cleveland Indians in Game 1 on Tuesday, with the World Series returning to Wrigley Field for Game 3 on Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

^ Back to Top ^