106 years. 38,549 days. 925,176 hours. This is the amount of time that has elapsed since October 14^th, 1908. The last time the Chicago Cubs won the World Series.

Generations of hopeful Cubs fans have suffered through a century filled with tragedy and failure. Since the Cubs last won the World Series the US has fought in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, the Iraq War, and the Afghanistan War. The titanic was built, set sail, sank, and rediscovered. And the NBA, NFL, and NHL were all formed (Chicago teams winning a championship in each league).

On April 23^rd, the Cubs, and their loyal fans, celebrated the 100^th anniversary of the construction of their home stadium, Wrigley Field. Following the trend of the last century, the game was a disaster with the Cubs blowing a 5-2 lead in the ninth, falling to the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-2. Wrigley Field, arguably one of the most historic baseball stadiums, has yet to see the Cubs win a World Series. Even the Chicago Bears of the NFL have won a championship at Wrigley.

“The Lovable Losers”, as the fans have deemed their team, credits much of their postseason failure to various curses and superstitions, the first being the “Curse of the Billy Goat”. In 1945, the last time the Cubs even appeared in the World Series, famous tavern owner Billy Sianis was kicked out of game six because of his pet goat’s odor. Outraged he declared, “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more”. The Cubs have not won a National League pennant since.

“I don’t believe in superstitions or curses, I just think the Cubs have sucked for the last 108 years” remarks VHS senior Nick Distaso. The 1969 Cubs are considered the team’s greatest roster ever assembled. With a late season lead of 9.5 games over the Mets nothing looked like it could stop the Cubs from finally returning to the World Series. On September 9, 1969 a black cat ran onto Wrigley field, circled around superstar Ron Santo sitting in the on deck circle, and mysteriously disappeared under the stands. After leading the National League East for 155 days the Cubs crumbled and lost 17 of their last 25 games failing to make the post season.

At the turn of the 20^th century the Cubs experienced a span of success stringing together a series of winning seasons. The 2003 Cubs faced off against the Florida Marlins in the NLCS needing four wins to advance to the World Series. In the eighth inning of game six the Cubs led the Marlins 3-0 needing only five outs to advance to the fall classic. A tailing fly ball off the bat of Luis Castillo seemed to be going into the left field stands, but winds characterized by the “Windy City” blew the ball back. Steve Bartman, a 26 year old global human resources worker from a Chicago suburb, in an attempt to catch the foul ball deflected it away from left fielder Moises Alou. All momentum was killed, the Marlins scored eight straight runs to beat the Cubs, and then went on to win the decisive game 7.

The Cubs infamous title drought is the longest in all four major American professional sports leagues. Each year when the trees start to bud and the temperatures start to rise signaling baseballs return, Cubs fans mentally and emotionally prepare for another failure of a season. Through the first quarter of this year’s season the Cubs are 9-17 and tied for the fewest wins in the MLB. Will the Chicago Cubs ever win another World Series title? The world may never know.