Daily Herald opinion: Celebrate Chicago sports fans. A Windy City team is back in the playoffs

Welcome back to postseason, Chicago sports fans.

The Cubs’ clinch guarantees that at least one top-level Chicago sports team competes in the playoffs this year.

Do you remember what the postseason is?

If you don’t, it’s OK. It’s been a while since a Windy City team has played a game after the regular season.

The last one? Way back on Nov. 8, 2024, when the Chicago Red Stars were bounced from the NWSL playoffs by the Orlando Pride.

Yes, the Bulls made it to the play-in portion of the NBA playoffs, but they played their way out before the real playoffs started.

While it was disappointing to see the Cubs fall behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central standings after the all-star break, it’s been fun watching this year’s group get the team back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

There’s a lot to like about this club, too.

Pete Crow-Armstrong is a joy to watch and a hit with the fans. Pitcher Cade Horton is making a strong case to win National League Rookie of the Year. And, we hope Daniel Palencia returns from the injured list and gets back to throwing 100 mph heat out of the bullpen.

Let’s also hope that Kyle Tucker can get healthy for the playoffs, the pitching holds up and the Cubs make it an October to remember.

We should truly celebrate this one, too, because most of Chicago’s other teams look unlikely to give us a whole lot to cheer about over the next few months.

The White Sox have been eliminated from the playoffs, but at least it wasn’t in August like last season. They have an exciting group of young players to build around.

We’re not ready quite ready to give up on the Bears, but very few NFL teams that start the season 0-2 make the playoffs. Even fewer 0-2 teams probably make it after giving up 52 points in Week 2.

The Blackhawks started training camp on Thursday, and they’ve got a lot of talented young players, but they’re probably a season away from the playoffs. Maybe they’ll surprise us.

The Bulls seem destined to hang around the middle of the Eastern Conference standings again, which could mean another play-in game appearance.

Speaking of play-in games, the Fire are in position to make the wild card match in the MSL. Win that and they advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Locally, the Boomers, Cougars and Dogs have given us postseason baseball to watch this year.

But for now, stock up on peanuts, grab an Old Style and warm up those vocal cords — because there’s nothing quite like singing “Go Cubs Go” in October.