Scores of Cubs fans filled the streets of downtown Chicago Friday in order to celebrate the team’s first World Series title since 1908.

Large Crowds Gather In Downtown Chicago, At Wrigley For Cubs World Series Parade

The city estimated approximately 5 million people would attend the celebration, which would mean nearly twice Chicago’s population plans to attend.

Metra trains from the suburbs faced delays as they attempted to accommodate passengers on what commuter rail service predicts will be the busiest day in its history.

Police did not allow people through on Monroe Street, while also making Jackson Street impassable. At about 8:20 a.m., fans pulled down a fence to get through to Columbus on Congress. Police near Michigan Avenue did not try to stop them.

Aside from this fence incident, fans have generally been well-behaved as they vie for spots to see the Cubs, who won the World Series on Wednesday night, pass by. The Cubs defeated the Indians 8-7 in 10 innings in Game 7 at Progressive Field.

“I have had so many emotions,” said Allie Kutrubis, of Chicago’s Noble Square neighborhood. “Most of the time it doesn’t feel real. It feels like I’m being punked.”

The Cubs were scheduled to leave Wrigley Field and head south toward downtown before a noon rally.

On Thursday the city asked fans to view the parade at three locations:

• Addison Street from Sheffield to Pine Grove avenues.

• North Michigan Avenue from Oak to Ohio streets.

• Columbus Drive between Monroe Street and Balbo Avenue.

As of Friday morning, the city had not revised those viewing locations. They are the three parts of the parade where the vehicles carrying the team will proceed slowly at “parade speed,” according to Shannon Breymaier, a city spokeswoman.

The crowd was dominated by families and young people, in large part due to a previously scheduled day off for Chicago Public Schools.

The team will end its parade in Grant Park, where a rally will be held at Lower Hutchinson Field around noon. It’s free and open to the public, although people will need to pass through a security screening at entrances at Michigan and Jackson Boulevard and Michigan and Congress Parkway.

Street closures were planned as early as 4 a.m., and city officials urged people to take public transportation. The city also issued a warning: “There will be zero tolerance for drinking on the public way.”

CHICAGO, IL – NOVEMBER 04: Jon Lester #34 (L), Travis Wood #37, David Ross #3, and John Lackey #41 of the Chicago Cubs celebrate during a World Series victory parade on November 4, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. The Cubs won their first World Series championship in 108 years after defeating the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in Game 7. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

The Chicago Cubs now have a major reason to celebrate for the first time in 108 years.

Cubs Edge Indians 8-7 In Ten-Inning Game 7 To Win First World Series In 108 Years

After a 17-minute delay following the ninth inning, Ben Zobrist hit a tie-breaking RBI double in a two-run tenth that propelled the Cubs to an 8-7 victory over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on Wednesday night in Game 7.

The Cubs have now won their first World Series since 1908– the longest drought in professional sports– robbing the Tribe of their own national title, which the latter last won in 1948.

“It was like a heavyweight fight, man,” said Zobrist, who was named World Series MVP. “Just blow for blow, everybody playing their heart out. The Indians never gave up either, and I can’t believe we’re finally standing, after 108 years, finally able to hoist the trophy.”

The Cubs held their breath in the bottom of the 10th when Rajai Davis hit a run-scoring single to pull the Indians within a run. However, reliever Mike Montgomery replaced Carl Edwards and got Michael Martinez to hit a slow roller into the infield. Kris Bryant then scooped it up and tossed it to Anthony Rizzo.

As the ball flew across the diamond, the Cleveland crowd fell silent for a brief moment– one of the few times it did all night– and only until it fell into Rizzo’s glove. Then, the large section of Cubs fans erupted, and the players raced to the middle of the infield to celebrate.

“We’re world champions,” Rizzo said in the alcohol-soaked visitors’ clubhouse after he had taken a break from embracing legendary actor Bill Murray, a longtime Cubs fan. “The Chicago Cubs are world champions. Let that sink in.”

The Cubs are the first team to come back from a 3-1 deficit and win Games 6 and 7 on the road since the 1979 Pirates.

Thousands of fans stayed for nearly an hour after the game, moving into the field level of the stadium, waving the ‘W’ flags, singing the victory chant “Go Cubs Go” and loudly cheering when Rizzo held up the ball he had caught for the final out.

One fan held a sign: “Now I can die in peace.”

Indeed, after over a century of disappointing seasons, curses involving goats, black cats and unruly fans, one of Chicago’s two MLB teams has reached the ultimate accomplishment.

The Tribe, meanwhile, will unfortunately have to continue to wait for their next World Series win.

When the Indians retreated to their clubhouse during the rain delay, lockers were covered in plastic and Champagne was made ready.

“It’s going to hurt,” said Indians Manager Terry Francona, who called it an incredible game. “It hurts because we care, but they need to walk with their head held high because they left nothing on the field. And that’s all the things we ever ask them to do. They tried until there was nothing left.”

Cleveland had overcome all season– which included injuries to outfielder Michael Brantley and pitchers Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco and the loss of two players to drug suspensions– and they struggled all night on Wednesday, never taking the lead.

To win, Chicago defeated two of the most dominant pitchers in these playoffs– Indians ace Corey Kluber, and versatile reliever Andrew Miller– who allowed more runs on Wednesday than they had yielded in the entire postseason.

The Cubs won 103 games during the regular season– the most in baseball– and showed off their skills during the playoffs.

Kyle Schwarber singled to open the 10th against Bryan Shaw, and was lifted for pinch-runner Albert Almora Jr., who advanced on Bryant’s flyout to the wall in right-center. Rizzo was intentionally walked to set up Zobrist, who lined a double down the left-field line past a diving Jose Ramirez.

“It’s unbelievable,” Zobrist said. “I can’t even put it into words. What this team has battled through all year long, believing we’re the best team, but the ups and the downs and having to fight through things. … It’s an unbelievable team to be a part of.”

CLEVELAND, OH – NOVEMBER 02: The Chicago Cubs celebrate after defeating the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in Game Seven of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on November 2, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cubs win their first World Series in 108 years. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

The thrill and adrenaline were palpable Tuesday night at Progressive Field, where the Chicago Cubs rolled past the Cleveland Indians 9-3 to tie the World Series and force Game 7.

Cubs Rout Indians 9-3 To Force World Series Game 7

Kris Bryant contributed four hits and a solo home run, Jake Arrieta struck out nine over 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball, and the Cubs got another extended outing from closer Aroldis Chapman to set up the winner-take-all Game 7. The previous such game came in 2014, when San Francisco defeated Kansas City.

On Wednesday night, the Cubs will attempt to end their 108-year championship drought, while the Indians will be seeking their first World Series title since 1948, and will hope to join their fellow Cleveland-based team, the Cavaliers, as 2016 champions.

“I think tomorrow we’re going to come to the clubhouse with a lot of confidence and a lot of energy,” said the Cubs’ Addison Russell. “Game 7, it’s a kid’s dream.”

The 22-year-old Russell became the second-youngest player behind Mickey Mantle (21 years old, 1953) to hit a grand slam in a Fall Classic game, and tied a single-game World Series record with his RBI total, which he reached in the third inning.

Game 7 is one of the most eagerly anticipated sporting events in the country. Standing-room only tickets at Progressive Field are already going for $2,000, and box seats are selling for as much as $20,000 apiece on the secondary market.

“Can I sell mine?’’ Cubs catcher David Ross said. “I’m looking for a job after tomorrow.’’

Chapman, who got the final eight outs of Chicago’s victory in Game 5, was summoned in the seventh inning and recorded the last out to end a Cleveland threat. He then turned in a scoreless eighth and returned for the ninth even after Anthony Rizzo’s two-run shot in the top of the frame gave the Cubs a seven-run lead. Manager Joe Maddon gave the left-hander a break after he walked Brandon Guyer to start the ninth, with Pedro Stop and Travis Wood getting the last three outs of the Series-tying win.

The Cubs are vying to become just the sixth team since the Fall Classic adopted the 2-3-2 format in 1925 to win a World Series after trailing 3-1. The most recent example of such a feat was pulled off by the 1985 Royals against the Cardinals.

“It’s been a very well-contested series. Both sides have played really good baseball,” Maddon said. “… It’s just correct and apt that we’d go seven games.”

This marked the 65th time the World Series reached Game 6, and the 40th time the trailing team forced a Game 7. Of the previous 39 teams to force a Game 7 by winning Game 6, 21 won the championship.

Cleveland’s outfielders contributed to Chicago’s 3-0 lead in the first. Bryant kicked off the rally with a two-out home run, and the Cubs had two on when Russell dropped a double to right-center that fell due to miscommunication between Tyler Naquin and Lonnie Chisenhall. 

“Off the bat, I thought that was going to be kind of a routine play,” Russell said. “It looked like there was a little bit of miscommunication there. They didn’t put a glove on it, therefore it counts as a hit, which I was totally stoked. It pushed me for the next at-bat as well, coming up with bases loaded.”

In the third, the Cubs loaded the bases with one out against starter Josh Tomlin, who was ultimately replaced by Dan Otero. Russell greeted Otero with a homer to center, his third of the postseason.

Jason Kipnis, who grew up as a Cubs fan in suburban Chicago, attempted to rally the Tribe. He doubled in the fourth for the Indians’ first hit off Arrieta and scored on Mike Napoli’s single, and added a solo homer with two outs in the fifth.

“Jake was really good. On his regular rest, he was outstanding,” Maddon said. “We came out hitting the baseball. We looked more normal. We hit our home runs. Like I said before, I think the weather could possibly help us out. I think it actually did. I just know our hitters felt better about everything.”

Kyle Hendricks will start Game 7 for the Cubs on Wednesday, and the Indians will counter with Corey Kluber. 

CLEVELAND, OH – NOVEMBER 01: Travis Wood #37 of the Chicago Cubs throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians in Game Six of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on November 1, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Scores of Chicago Cubs fans have held their breath for the past two days. If they couldn’t witness their team win its first championship since 1908, could the franchise at least win one World Series game at Wrigley Field?

Aroldis Chapman Leads Cubs To 3-2 Win Over Indians; Cleveland Leads World Series 3-2

The team delivered, and Aroldis Chapman’s trick — a career-best eight-out save–on Sunday night carried the Cubs to a 3-2 home victory over the Indians to cut Cleveland’s World Series lead to 3-2 at the end of Halloween weekend.

“I feel like we play our best with our backs up against the wall,” Kris Bryant said after the Cubs’ first win in a World Series game at Wrigley Field since 1945. “We went out there today, took care of business. Hopefully we can get out there and win Game 6, because you never know what can happen in a Game 7.”

Bryant scored a big home run in the three-run fourth inning.

Wrigleyville has been buzzing as the Cubs hosted their first World Series in 71 years. By the end of the night, Cubs fans celebrated the win that kept them alive in the series by singing “Go Cubs Go.”

Pre-game, the team got pumped up thanks to Anthony Rizzo, who ran around the clubhouse playing the theme from the movie “Rocky” and then used it as his walk-up music for his first at-bat.

“I wanted to get the crowd pumped and let them know we plan on going the distance,” Rizzo said. “Hopefully, we’re the last ones standing.”

Indians starter Trevor Bauer, who lost Game 2 at Progressive Field, struck out seven, including five of the first 10 batters he faced. The Cubs have had no problems catching balls, including a wall-climbing snag by Jason Heyward to stop Bauer’s foul popup down the right-field line.

With the exception of a 3-0 pitch that Ben Zobrist hit for a single two batters after Bryant’s homer, “I located every single pitch that they hit exactly where I wanted them,” Bauer said. “Sometimes, it doesn’t work out for you. I got three of them to chase balls that were way out of the zone. Usually, those go in your favor. Clearly, not tonight.”

Jose Ramirez gave the Tribe a 1-0 lead in the second. Bryant tied the game with a leadoff blast in the fourth, the seventh homer allowed by Cleveland in 13 postseason games. The Cubs then added four hits in five at-bats, including an RBI infield single by Addison Russell that scored Rizzo and started a 2-1 lead. David Ross, who played his final game at Wrigley Field before retiring after the season, added a sacrifice fly.

Francisco Lindor’s RBI single in the sixth pulled the Indians within 3-2, and both teams’ managers, Joe Maddon and Terry Francona, turned to their closers early. Maddon called on Chapman with one out and one on in the seventh, and the lefty escaped that jam, worked around a runner reaching third in the eighth and closed the win with a perfect ninth. Maddon said he had alerted Chapman that he might call on him early.

Francona brought in Cody Allen in the bottom of the seventh, after Bryan Shaw retired the first batter. Allen worked a scoreless 1 2/3 innings to stop the Cubs from scoring, but Chapman stopped the Tribe’s offense for the rest of the night.

“We’re trying to do anything to get on base and get something going,” Indians first baseman Mike Napoli said. “He was going to be in there to the end — that’s what it looked like. We had an opportunity.”

The loss was a rarity for Francona, who is now 11-2 in World Series games, but the Indians will continue the pursuit of their first championship since 1948 on Tuesday in Cleveland.

“Sometimes you’ve got to respect what the other team can do, too,” Francona said. “Sometimes they beat you. I didn’t think we beat ourselves. I thought they beat us.”

Right-hander Josh Tomlin will start for the Indians on Tuesday, while Cubs righty Jake Arrieta will make his fourth postseason start and second at Progressive Field.

CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 30: Aroldis Chapman #54 of the Chicago Cubs pitches in the seventh inning against the Cleveland Indians in Game Five of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field on October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Jake Arrieta carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, finishing with one run allowed over 5 2/3 innings to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 5-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on Wednesday night, thus tying the World Series at one game apiece.

Jake Arrieta Carries Cubs To 5-1, World Series Game 2 Win Over Indians

The win marked the Cubs’ first in the World Series since Oct. 8, 1945. Game 3 is set for Friday night, when Wrigley Field hosts its first World Series game in 71 years.

“Wrigley, it’s going to be — you know, it’s always good. It’s always crazy good, but I’d have to imagine a little bit more than that, especially coming back at 1-1,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “I think the folks will be jacked up about the win tonight. But it is, it’s the finest venue there is in professional sports and maybe in all of sports. … But now having a World Series to root for, it’s going to be incredibly special.”

Arrieta threw a first-pitch strike to only half the batters he faced. He tossed 98 pitches in all, but only 55 were strikes. The right-hander walked three batters.

“Maintaining a consistent feel on a night like this, with the weather the way it was, can be tough,” he said.

Yet here Arrieta was at the beginning of the sixth inning, carrying the longest no-hit bid in a World Series game since the Mets’ Jerry Koosman in 1969. The Cubs righty was two outs shy of matching the team’s longest no-hit bid in the World Series, done in 1906 by Ed Reulbach, who tossed six no-hit innings in Game 2 against the crosstown rival White Sox..

“He had so much movement on his ball, and he was kind of effectively wild,” Indians slugger Mike Napoli said of Arrieta. “He hit the corners when he needed to, and then you can’t really sit in an area because he was moving the ball all over the place. He did a good job. He shut us down for five innings without even getting a hit.”

Arrieta found himself in the same mess as Game 1 starter Jon Lester. Both got two outs to start the game, but then walked Francisco Lindor and Napoli back-to-back. Lester allowed two runs Tuesday night en route to a 6-0 loss, but Arrieta escaped when he got Jose Ramirez to fly out.

The reigning NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers were in attendance, including LeBron James, but they couldn’t help the Tribe win. Indians starter Trevor Bauer, making his first postseason start since his bloody finger incident in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series, was chased out after 3 2/3 innings. Bauer threw 87 pitches in his abbreviated outing.

“They never let him settle into the game,” Tribe manager Terry Francona said. “You’ve got to give them a lot of credit. … As a staff in general, we worked behind a lot tonight, a lot more than is helpful. I think some of their hitters deserve credit for that also.”

Kyle Schwarber recorded two hits and drove in two runs for the Cubs, while Anthony Rizzo provided a spark with an RBI double in the first. Rizzo drew a walk with two outs in the third and scored on Schwarber’s single, and then he battled Zach McAllister in a 10-pitch at-bat in the fifth, fouling off five straight pitches before drawing a walk and scoring on Ben Zobrist’s triple.

Bryant praised Schwarber, saying: “They’re going to make a movie about him,”

Said Schwarber: “I want to help this team get to the ultimate goal. I want to have a good at-bat every time I go to the plate.”

Maddon must have been very proud of his team. The Cubs became the first team to win a World Series game with six players under 25 in the starting lineup.

Following an off-day, the series shifts to Chicago, where right-hander Kyle Hendricks will get the start for the Cubs on Friday.

Righty Josh Tomlin will take the mound for the Indians. Tomlin has won both of his postseason starts, posting a 2.53 ERA.

CLEVELAND, OH – OCTOBER 26: Jake Arrieta #49 of the Chicago Cubs throws a pitch during the sixth inning against the Cleveland Indians in Game Two of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on October 26, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

In the wake of Chicago’s 5-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series Saturday night, Cubs fans have rejoiced in witnessing the franchise reach its first World Series since 1945.

Fans Launch Petition To Replace Joe Buck With Bob Uecker For World Series Broadcasts

Given this historic milestone, Cubs fans are calling for a very special guest broadcaster during the World Series.

A petition created by Tab Bamford on Change.org– and that has more than 5,000 signatures– calls for Joe Buck to be replaced by Bob Uecker for the broadcasts.

The petition states: “Bob Uecker is Bob Uecker – a national treasure. And his portrayal of an Indians broadcaster in the movie “Major League” is all-time great.
Replacing Joe Buck with Uecker would put one of the truly great entertainers in the game on its biggest stage.”

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel issued a statement Saturday night celebrating the pennant win. He says: “The fun continues in Cleveland on Tuesday night.”

Several celebrities whoa are Cubs fans also posted messages and photos on social media.

Comedian and actor Bob Newhart posted a photo of himself, his grandchildren and the “W” flag they made for him.

Actor John Cusack posted two words last night along with a photo of the team celebrating at Wrigley Field. As he put it: “It’s. Done.”

New Girl actor and Evanston native Jake Johnson tweeted, “They did it!!!!! #FlyTheW @Cubs.”

Even Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s reaction was shared. Clinton’s press secretary Nick Merrill tweeted a photo of Clinton looking at her phone totally shocked when she learned the Cubs were headed to the World Series.

“That look when you cap off a day on the trail by watching the @Cubs cement their trip to the #WorldSeries. #FlyTheW.”

Game 1 of the World Series is set for Tuesday at Cleveland’s Progressive Field, where the Indians will host the Cubs.

MILWAUKEE, WI – AUGUST 15: Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster Announcer Bob Uecker before their game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Miller Field on August 15, 2015 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Brewers defeated the Phillies 4-2. (Photo by John Konstantaras/Getty Images)