Revelry, reflection as Chicago celebrates
World Series victory parade draws 5 million
Alfonso Hernandez hasn’t exactly waited a whole 108 years for this. But he says he’s waited 95 years — all of his life — as a tortured Chicago Cubs fan, every birthday getting a Cubsthemed cake or a new piece of memorabilia to keep his faith alive in the once-lovable losers.
“The wait is over,” said Hernandez, who’s from Streamwood, Ill. “All of my life, I watched them lose. I’m so happy. So happy, happy, happy. God gave us the players to win the World Series. They are … champions.”
As more than 5 million Cubs fans celebrated Friday, here’s a snapshot of what the World Series title meant to fans along the parade route.
Florita Killroy, 47, Chicago: “This parade makes it real. I’ve been a fan all my life. My earliest memories are my dad taking me to Cubs games. It was always his thing. He passed away four years ago and would have loved this.”
Brian Hopkins, 47, Aurora, Ill.: “It’s just been hope every year. I believed it was going to happen every single year. Even when there were 5,000 fans in the stands back in the ’80s. This is validation. My dad passed away at the beginning of the year. He’d be really, really happy to see this.”
Christopher Hopkins, 6, Aurora: “I was really, really excited (for Game 7). My dad was a little (crazier).”
Steve Pyke, 53, Chicago: “I always said if they ever won it, it was going to be the biggest party the sports world has ever seen. So here we are. I’ve known for 20 years that I was going to be here no matter where I was. My grandmother was a die-hard Cubs fan. My dad worked with Ron Santo, and my memories were sitting in his seats right next to the Cubs bullpen. I’ve been hooked ever since. Next year is here!”
Kevin Cunningham, in his 40s, Park Ridge, Ill.: “I actually felt nauseated ( Wednesday), like, ‘Oh my god, I’m sick to my stomach.’ Seeing the parade is all ex- citement. Of course I took off work for this. I didn’t call in sick. I grew up in New Mexico, moved out here in ’95, and, of course, you have to love the Cubs. How can you not, right?”
Larry English, 34, with his daughter, Queanna, 9, Hoffman Estates, Ill.: “To me, this means we can fulfill us talking (expletive), because everybody, White Sox and Cardinals fans, always give us crap about how we never won. Now that we officially won, we’ve got the monkey off our back. It’s an uplifting feeling. Game 7, and now this parade, what more could you ask for?”
Matt Malone, 28, Kempton, Ill.: “It’s something Chicago needed for a long time. The organization set high expectations and provided, so now it’s come full circle. Growing up a Cubs fan as a kid, it’s just a hush or a whisper that they could win the World Series. It was make-believe like unicorns or Santa coming down the chimney. My grandfather was 98, and he just recently passed away. His saying was ‘Day late and a dollar short.’ Now it’s perfect.”
Alejanero Guzman, Chicago: “My father brought me The Cubs’ W flag flies at the Nov. 4 parade in Chicago.
here for the first time when I was 12 years old, and I met Ryne Sandberg. And then I brought my son, and he met Tom Ricketts and got a ball signed by all the players. I have a lot of memories. Man, all the drama over the years. I was there in ’03 with Bartman, seeing that go down. Seven games, bro, but we did that Cinderella story. It was the best thing I’ve seen in my entire life. This parade is the icing on the cake!”