by thecowl.sports on May 4, 2017
Professional Sports
By: Ethan Ticehurst ’18
Everyone should feel lucky that they were not my neighbors on the night of November 2, 2016. As the time approached midnight, my yells directed at the television screen grew louder and louder. Finally, just after midnight on the third of November, I let out a cheer that rattled the walls as I witnessed something that an entire generation of baseball fans missed out on: a Cub’s World Series championship.
Even for people who live far from the North Side of Chicago, the Cubs represent something amazing in the sport of baseball. There has always been a sense of eternal optimism and hope surrounding the team, even when they were still in the midst of the longest championship doubt in the history of professional sports. They were the “lovable losers,” the team that everyone beat up on but felt a little bad about it when they did. Other than the fans of their division rivals, it is hard to imagine someone who could outright hate the Cubs.
That is why I was cheering on that fateful night. It was not that I was happy to see the Cleveland Indians lose. They were a great team last year and they deserved to be there right to the end. It was the happiness of seeing these Cubs finally succeed after so many years of struggle. It was the greatest sports moment of the past year. In fact, it was the best moment in sports since the Red Sox ended their championship drought in 2004.
This past year has been a great year for sports, with many different teams shocking the world with amazing achievements. But in a year of great moments, the Cubs win stands out as the greatest of them all. New Englanders may try to claim that the Patriots’ 2017 Super Bowl victory was greater, but they are sadly mistaken. Comebacks happen all the time in sports and are not as special as everyone thinks they are. The only people who are impressed are those on the winning side. Ending a championship drought is way more exciting than winning a fifth championship in 17 years. In fact, the only time the Patriots were part of an exciting and inspiring championship game is when they happen to lose one—such as the two they lost to the Giants a few years back.
The Cubs winning was the greatest moment in sports in the last year because it was a constructive moment. Watching this team exorcise their demons and finally bring home the trophy brought everyone in baseball, and the country, together. In comparison, this year’s Super Bowl was won by a team that most of the country is adamantly against and was actively cheering against.
A truly great sports moment is one that inspires the next generation of athletes to follow their dreams of someday being on top. A widely disliked team winning yet another championship inspires no one. The Cubs stand alone as the most inspirational and uplifting team of the past year.