It's weird. Kyle Schwarber admits that much. But every time the Cubs outfielder circles back to watch Game 7 of last year's World Series _ "It has happened plenty" _ he gets edgy.
Obviously, Schwarber knows the ending. He knows his 10th-inning leadoff single ignited a two-run, tie-breaking, curse-lifting breakthrough. He knows the final score: Cubs 8, Indians 7. He knows the rapture that followed. He knows that, very soon after, he wound up in a mind-blowing parade down Michigan Avenue and as a talk-show guest alongside Kelly Ripa in New York City.
Still ...
"It's all nerves when I'm watching," Schwarber said last week at spring training. "Even now. You're sitting there wondering what's going to happen. You obviously know where it's all headed. But you're still nervous and asking yourself, 'Are we going to pull this out?'"
It's that anxiety that leads to questions Schwarber has considered, but only fleetingly. What if it all had ended differently? What if Game 7 had gotten away? What if the Indians had been the team to uncork the champagne and halt a lengthy championship drought?
What if the Cubs were heading for Opening Day not as World Series champions but as tormented souls walking into Year 109?
"It would definitely be different," Schwarber said. "I know there would be that pit in the stomach. I just don't like to think about it."
Still, this is definitely odd. The Cubs are headed for Opening Day on Sunday night and for the first time in more than a century, a city and a fan base that typically reflects on previous seasons with a deep "What if?" affliction, instead has found itself immersed in a joyful afterglow, empowered by what was accomplished.
