Oct. 14--Actor Thomas Ian Nicholas likes to say that he saw the last Cubs World Series championship and he hopes the team will win the series this year.
Nicholas, who portrayed Henry Rowengartner in "Rookie of the Year," told Rolling Stone magazine in an article posted online Tuesday that he's often asked about the Cubs, who eliminated the Cardinals with a 6-4 victory in Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday. In the 1993 movie, Rowengartner helps the Cubs win the World Series, which Nicholas likes to joke about.
"People get so upset and immediately correct me about how it's been since 1908 (since the Cubs won the World Series) blah blah blah," Nicholas said. "It takes a second, but then they finally realize who I am and that I'm just messing with them."
Nicholas, 35, said he's friends with the Ricketts family, which own the Cubs, so he recently sat in the Ricketts suite in Los Angeles with Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine guitarist), Jack White, Jamie Foxx and Vince Vaughn for the Dodgers series.
Nicholas said his friendship with the Ricketts family also facilitated him throwing out the first pitch and singing the seventh-inning stretch multiple times.
"That first time I also threw out the first pitch and I made it to the plate, but when I got back to my phone, I had a text from my wife's aunt that said, 'You throw like a girl,'" Nicholas said. "Then, when I sang during the stretch, I tried to do a Harry Caray impression and I think everyone just thought I was drunk. No one really caught the reference. I needed the glasses or something."
Nicholas, who starred in the "American Pie" franchise and now tours with his band, said he has a strong affinity for the Cubs from filming the movie at Wrigley Field and he hopes the "Back to the Future Part II" prediction is correct and the team wins the World Series.
"I mean, we already have hoverboards so let's hope they get the Cubs part right as well," Nicholas said.
