This November, one of the two longest World Series droughts will be snapped in the epic Fall Classic between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians.
The Cubs haven’t won since 1908, and the Indians haven’t hoisted the coveted trophy since 1948. The shared length of struggles juxtaposed with the David and Goliath story has created one of the best World Series in recent memory. The Cubs won 103 games in the regular season and were heavy favorites to break their “curse” all season, but the overachieving Indians stand in the Cubs way, heading back to Cleveland up three games to two.
There is a special buzz in Chicago and Cleveland this fall, but that excitement stretches to Boston with a staggering number of of ex-Red Sox in the series.
Indians manager Terry Francona, and Cubs’ President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein will forever be remembered in Boston for breaking the city’s own 86-year drought. Tito won two titles in Boston, and always got the most out of his teams in October. He is remembered for his late-game managing of Curt Schilling in the bloody sock game, and sending Dave Roberts to steal second in the ALCS.
While things ended badly for Tito in Boston, he is a class act, and Sox fans everywhere look back fondly on his tenure. Before his loss in Game 2 of this year’s World Series, Francona was 9-0 managing games at the game’s biggest stage.
The Red Sox hired Theo Epstein in 2002 as the youngest general manager in the sport’s history, and in just two years he brought a championship to Boston. Acquiring Curt Schilling and David Ortiz proved to be two of the better acquisitions in the modern-day MLB.
Ending droughts and so-called “curses” brings an unparalleled intensity and angst to a starving fan base. Red Sox fans are reveling in the opportunity to sympathize with these two cities. The Cubs suffering draws all the headlines, and it should because the Cubs are one of the few long-suffering organizations whose fans refuse to stay silent through the unbearable losing seasons and collapses.
Conversely, the last time the Indians won it all was on Boston University’s Nickerson Field against the Boston Braves. BU and the Cleveland Indians shared a special moment on social media before the World Series, which started when the school sent dirt from Nickerson Field to the Indians’ front office as a way of wishing the team luck in the World Series.
Did you know the @Indians won their last World Series at Nickerson Field (Braves Field)? Rhett thought we should send something for luck… pic.twitter.com/Sjx7qO2xEf
— BU Athletics (@BUAthletics) October 24, 2016
Indians have former Red Sox players Coco Crisp, Mike Napoli and Andrew Miller, while the Cubs have Jon Lester, John Lackey and David Ross. If you’re a baseball fan from Boston, it’s almost impossible to not be completely captivated by this series.
In addition to the connections on the field, the drama is tremendous. You can feel the anxiety of the empty-pocketed Cubs fans through the Fox broadcast. The tight shots during the broadcast of cringing Cub fans, such as Bill Murray, Vince Vaughn and Jim Harbaugh, are absolutely awesome.
Baseball’s failure to increase viewership in the regular season is directly correlated to the slow pace of the game. That same weakness is the game’s greatest strength during the late innings of October. As the clock approaches midnight, there is unparalleled drama of baseball’s timeless tradition that makes the game so tense.
All the similarities between the two teams beg the question: which team are Sox fans cheering for? There isn’t a simple answer because for the first time in recent memory it is nearly impossible to root against either team.
Chicago won in an elimination game at Wrigley Field on Sunday night to push the Series back to Cleveland for Game 6.
At the very least this series has created a great distraction for Sox fans to take a trip down memory lane with the Cubs and Indians. Both teams’ leading management voice played a defining role in rewriting the curse of the Bambino for Sox fans and that turnaround should never be forgotten.
