Oct. 14--Hey, Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna ...
Yes.
They are.
The Cubs are gonna play for a spot in the -- go ahead, say it out loud -- World Series.
World Series World Series World Series.
Exorcise your doubts. This team, you might have noticed, doesn't have any. They played with confidence and authority -- did you see how far that Kyle Schwarber home run went over the new sign in right field in the 7th inning?
They dispatched the hated St. Louis Cardinals -- the team with the best record in baseball -- with back-to-back wins at Wrigley Field.
Before that, they blanked the Pirates, the team with the second-best record, in a sudden-death wild card play-in game. They did it in Pittsburgh, sucking the air out of the world's loudest stadium and leaving infielder Sean Rodriguez to pound out his frustration on an innocent Gatorade cooler. Who could blame him? The Pirates won 98 games and their postseason lasted nine innings. But they get no sympathy from Cubs fans, suffering from that 107-year drought.
The 2015 Cubs haven't wasted any energy worrying about history. They've played with the joyful abandon of post-adolescent jocks, living the dream. Fans have held their collective breath as the wins piled up, waited for the bobbled ball or the wild pitch that would signal the beginning of the inevitable collapse. The players have just kept taking care of business.
This young team has already delivered more than expected. Theo Epstein's rebuilding plan was supposed to pay dividends next year, but Cubs fans know all about next year. It's always coming and it never gets here. Certainly not early.
Those rosy reports from the farm system didn't do much to counter the unrelenting mediocrity on display at Wrigley Field the last few years. And this year, there would be a monstrosity of a video board to watch it on. Anything else would be a bonus.
As the season unfolded, fans looked up from their beers and stared.
Cubs Nation went from disbelief to what if to why not?
Fans have to like their chances with these players. Having vanquished the No. 1 and No. 2 teams, the Cubs have the best record among teams still standing.
They're uncowed by that long losing streak, unimpressed with The Curse. The Steve Bartman thing? That is so 2003. The guy was wearing a Walkman, for crying out loud. It was before Facebook, before Twitter. It was forever ago.
Today, fans aim their iPhones at their faces while they sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and post video selfies during the seventh-inning stretch. There's a Jumbotron at Wrigley Field. It's a new era.
Why not?
