FULL OF CHEER
Fans from near and far converge on Wrigleyville to root on Cubs during Game 6
Unbridled joy was on display late Tuesday after the Cubs forced a World Series Game 7 with their 9- 3 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
Dozens of fans flocked to the area just below the Wrigley Field marquee to scream, hold up signs and join in an improvised rendition of “Go Cubs Go.”
Joe Debald was one of the first under the marquee. He said it was a sense of family that drew him there.
“Our grandparents never saw this,” he said. “My grandmother said, ‘ Go there and enjoy what your grandfather never could.’ ”
The Game 7 appearance, Debald said, brings Cubs fans even closer together.
“It’s something special,” said Debald, of Michigan City, Indiana. “This is happiness, right here.”
Cars traveling along the congested stretch of Clark Street outside the ballpark blared horns in celebration once the final out was recorded.
Debald said the Cubs now have all the momentum forWednesday.
“We got The Professor [ Kyle Hendricks] on the mound, our bats are awake,” he said. “Game 7, anything can happen.”
Outside the entrance to the bleachers, the statue of legendary Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray was adorned with several green apples in an homage to his saying: “As sure as God made green apples, some day the Chicago Cubs are going to be in theWorld Series” in 1991. Though far fewer fans and police officers were in the area compared with the weekend when the third, fourth and fifth games of the series were played at Wrigley Field, those who were around cheered just as loudly.
Without a ticket to any of the games at Wrigley Field, Chris McDaniel, a state senator from Mississippi, flew into Chicago to attend Game 6 of the NLCS and stayed to watch the World Series around the ballpark.
“I usually don’t get nervous until the bottom of the eighth,” he said. “I’ve been a Cubs fan since ’ 84. I’ve seen a lot of collapses down the stretch. This team’s different.”
Watching on the Murphy’s
“I’VE BEEN A CUBS FAN SINCE ’ 84. I’VE SEEN A LOT OF COLLAPSES DOWNTHE STRETCH. THIS TEAM’S DIFFERENT.” STATE SEN. CHRIS McDANIEL, R- Miss., who was in Wrigleyville to watch the Cubs during Game 6
Bleachers patio at Waveland and Sheffield, McDaniel said he went there because it’s “the best sports bar in the country.”
McDaniel said the Cubs’ 2016 season was “outstanding,” and he expects there to be plenty forCubs fans to cheer about for years to come.
Several dozen people, including some Chicago Police officers, watched the TVs inside the bar from outside on the sidewalk. Passersby said the bar had stopped letting people in before the first pitch. Fireworks could be heard a few blocks away after Addison Russell’s third- inning grand slam.
Colin McMahon of Lake View said he came toMurphy’s Bleachers to celebrate any wins or mourn any losses with his fellow fans.
“Who cares about getting your heart crushed? Who cares about losing?” he said. “Just be a fan and enjoy every minute of it.”