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The 2016 Major League Baseball season came to an end Wednesday night with the Chicago Cubs being named World Series Champions for the first time in 108 years.
Despite having rooted for the Indians to end their own personal streak of what is now 68 years, I felt an unexpected appreciation for what the Cubs accomplished.
Now, you may ask yourself, why? Why, after rooting for the Indians to end their streak, are you content with the Cubs victory?
The answer is simpler than you may think.
All over social media, Cubs fans have posted about family members who have been waiting a long time for the moment they experienced on Wednesday night. Some got to share the Cubs championship moment with those family members, while others were still able to share in the moment with loved ones who passed away without getting the opportunity to see a championship for their beloved Cubbies.
My grandpa has been waiting since he was 15 to see the cubs win the world series again I’m so glad he got to see his dream come true ?? pic.twitter.com/0OSWhbinUQ
— •❃šäM❃• (@SammCatttttttt) November 3, 2016
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My grandpa: 94yr old WWII vet & lifelong @Cubs fan. He gets to celebrate with tears of joy tonight #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/EEQxotNa8i
— Anfrony (@Jeenyusaurus) November 3, 2016
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my grandpa has been waiting 81 years for this? #GoCubbies pic.twitter.com/K5GIl4TpZr
— clare (@_claremoser) November 3, 2016
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Son Keeps His Promise To Listen To The Cubs Win The World Series With His Dad….
— BIG BOB (@FSBigBob) November 3, 2016
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“I lost my grandpa yesterday who was a die-hard Cubs fan.” https://t.co/s4RnOWciLc
— Buzzfeed (@buzzfeed18) November 3, 2016
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Seeing the excitement that lifelong Cubs fans had for this year’s championship team reminded me of the Pittsburgh Pirates 2013 season. Now, I know a World Series is different from a simple playoff berth, but I remember seeing the joy that Pirates fans had when the team broke the streak of 20 consecutive losing seasons that began in 1992.
I was born in 1993 and prior to that magical 2013 campaign, I had never seen the Pirates play in the postseason. Despite being knocked out in the National League Division Series by the St Louis Cardinals, that run was magical. The atmosphere at PNC Park on the night in which the Pirates defeated the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Wild Card game was electric, even from watching on television from the couch in my apartment.
I never truly thought the day would come when I’d see the Pirates in the playoffs, but at the age of 19, I finally witnessed it, along with the entire city of Pittsburgh and Bucco fans everywhere.
That’s how Cubs fans felt, not for a playoff berth, but for a championship.
The Pirates are still in a World Series drought of their own. It’s been 37 years since the 1979 “We Are Family” Pirates won the Fall Classic, but there is a generation of fans that have seen the Pirates have success in the postseason and even win a few championships.
I’m in the generation that has seen the Pirates have limited success in the playoffs and no World Series appearances. However, it has allowed me to garner a larger respect for what the Cubs faithful have gone through.
Wednesday night, the Cubs didn’t just win the World Series, they paid tribute and rewarded life long Cubs fans for their patience and their loyalty.
One day, the Pirates will do the same and multiple generations of fans will rejoice. But for now, It’s okay to be happy for Cubs fans who have waited a long time to “Fly the W” following the last out of the MLB season.
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