From C to shining C: A Cubs fan born in Cleveland walks the line
Growing up in Cleveland, I have always been an Indians fan. As a child, I would go to games at Municipal Stadium that weren't crowded. I would have my own section in the stands just trying to get a foul ball.
Growing up, I would watch Cubs games on WGN since they were America's team. When we moved to Chicago 17 years ago it was easy to adopt the Cubs as my second team. They were the lovable losers, and, as a baseball traditionalist, I found the atmosphere at Wrigley to be special. The park is always crowded, and people love to have a great time at the games.
I could easily identify with a team that had a hard time winning, for the Indians in the '70s and '80s were also that team. It was always going to be "that year." There were always high expectations that they would do well and then the reality: "There's always next year!"
This isn't the Indians' first attempt at winning the World Series in my lifetime. They were there in '95 and '97. In '97 they had a one-run lead in the ninth inning of Game 7, only to end up losing in extra innings. This added to the resume of big disappointments for the city, along with "The Shot" by Michael Jordan, "The Fumble" by Earnest Byner and "The Drive" by John Elway.
I was at the Bartman game in Chicago. I saw the emotions on the fans' faces before everything went wrong. Some cried tears of joy knowing how close the Cubs were to going to the World Series. I felt so bad for those fans. I had been there so many times in my lifetime, even that same night, feeling terrible the Cubs had come so close but couldn't pull it off.
After growing up in a city that had never won a professional championship in my lifetime, my first one came when the Chicago Blackhawks won in 2010. That was so special, and then this summer I experienced my first professional championship with Cleveland and the Cavaliers. The heartbreak and pain built up over a lot of years were finally gone.
When both the Cubs and the Indians were contending for the playoffs, I thought it would be incredible if they both could make it to the World Series. How awesome would that be? On Sunday, I was still in disbelief.
This is all that I wanted, both teams making it to the World Series. This is a dream come true.
I'm going to sit in those stands soaking it all in! It will be so emotional just to be there and watching both of those teams play. Cheering for both sides.
I will be celebrating, and there will be tears of joy. However, my heart will still be suffering with that other team. "There's always next year" for that team. But years of sadness and defeat will finally be gone for the other.
• Geneva resident Scott Gerbec is wearing an Indians jersey and a Cubs hat for the games in Cleveland.