In case you’ve been under a rock somewhere and haven’t yet heard the news, the Chicago Cubs won the 2016 World Series. This is big news everywhere. The loveable losers have become loveable winners. Honest—there are tee shirts that laud the “Loveable Winners.” Only in Chicago.

I grew up on the north side of Chicago, so I’ve always been a Cubs fan. My husband grew up in northern Illinois. His father was a die-hard Cubs fan. Raised in rural Illinois, my father-in-law followed the Cubs first in the newspaper and on the radio and later on television. When he had his own family, each year they made a trip to the big city to see a Cubs’ game. I bought him one of those page-a-day calendars when he was in the hospital and I wrote the time of each day’s Cubs’ game on it. We just got a Cubs’ World Series flag for his grave.

So, it is no surprise that my daughter is a Cubs fan. She follows them from her home in California. This year, she went to more Cubs’ games than the average Chicago-based fan. As a girl, she remembers Grandpa watching games and says she was raised to believe the Cubs would never win. They were “loveable losers.”

During the ninth inning of Game 7, she booked a flight to Chicago for the hometown celebration. Friday, she went downtown with friends to see the parade. She watched as the Chicago River was dyed Cubby Blue. Later, they made their way to Wrigleyville to party with other fans. It was a special day for her and Grandpa was on her mind. She wore his class ring on a chain around her neck so he would be with her to celebrate the World Champion Chicago Cubs.

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Photo credit: Kalkwarf Collection