By Zach ..........

In all of sports there are few franchises as storied as the Chicago Cubs. Yet, there are no franchises that have endured more hardships, curses and winning droughts.  The last time the Cubs were in the World Series was 1945, when half of the teams in the MLB today did not exist.  The last time the Cubs won a Series was 1908. Since then, the Cubs have only made the playoffs 16 times. For some perspective on how terrible that stat is, the Yankees have 12 more World Series championships in that span than the Cubs playoff appearances.
Why have the Cubs been losing for so long? Could it be ownership, management or coaching? A true Chicago Cubs fan, a “Northie,” will never pin his struggles on his beloved “Cubbies.” They pin it on … “The Curse of the Billy Goat.” In their 1945 World Series appearance, legend has it that local Chicago tavern owner Billy Sianis placed a curse on the team in retaliation for refusing stadium entry to his pet goat. He felt the goat would be good luck for the team during their series against the Detroit Tigers in which they were up 2 games to 1. After being denied entry he screamed, “The Cubs ain’t gonna win no more. The Cubs will never win
a World Series so long as the goat is not allowed in Wrigley Field.” The Cubs ended up losing the series. The curse began. Both the goat and Mr. Sianis are long gone, but the curse is yet to be broken. 
The curse reincarnated in 2003 in what is known as “The Steve Bartman Incident.” It was Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, in which the Cubs were leading 3 games to 2. In the eighth inning with the Cubs ahead 3–0 and Florida batting, several spectators attempted to catch a foul ball off the bat of Marlin second baseman Luis Castillo. Steve Bartman, one of the fans in the area, reached for the ball, deflected it and foiled a potential catch by Cubs outfielder Moises Alou. If the ball had been caught, it would have been the second out in the inning, and the Cubs would have been just four outs away from winning their
first National League pennant since 1945. The Cubs ended up letting eight runs score in the inning, leading to an 8–3 loss. They were eliminated the next day
in Game 7 and the curse had never been more alive.
Now you maybe asking, why do they have such a strong fan base through all these curses and struggles? It is because all Cubs fans, like their parents before them, were born to be Cubs fans. They were born as “Northies.” They grew up on “Wrigley Dogs,” Harry Caray and Cubs baseball.  They live and die with their team, and this year may finally be their time.  
This year, the Cubs had a regular season to remember, going 103-58, the best record in the MLB. They have the reigning Cy Young pitcher on the mound (Jake
Arietta) and two MVP candidates at the corners (Anthony Rizzo, and Kris Bryant).  The Cubs post season roster is also rounded out by St. Joe’s graduate Tommy La
Stella ’07, who plays second & third base and enjoys the sight of Wrigley Field’s ivy turning brown. The Cubbies just defeated the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS
and take on the winner of today’s game between the Nationals and Dodgers. The North Side of Chicago is ready to break the curse, forget that Goat and hoist a trophy.