Last Friday, many students from Rolling Meadows attended the Cubs parade. As one of the seventh largest human gatherings in history, the parade was a day to remember for all of the people that attended it. Despite all the excitement though, I couldn’t help but think that it was all a little bit bittersweet.

For the last 108 years, the Chicago Cubs have always been the underdogs. No matter how the Cubs played, we always seemed to just push through. It never fazed the great city of Chicago, because we were dedicated to the legacy of our Cubbies. Contrary to what we would like to believe though, last weekend changed all of that.

Like many of you, I stayed up until one in the morning, unable to move from the TV as the Cubs were so close to being national champs. I celebrated with my family when they won, and watched over 5 million people join together to celebrate the victory in Chicago. But as I was watching the celebrations unfold, I couldn’t help but feel a little bit sad.

Since winning the World Series, the Cubs are no longer in a 108 year old winning drought. While it may not be a good thing to go 108 years without winning a national title, it proved to Chicago that we were united against the odds. Now that they have won though, Chicago has to prove once again that we can be united, even if the Cubs lose.

No longer will the famous curse of Murphy the Billy Goat and the unlucky catch by Steve Bartman be recognized as the reason the Cubs never made it to the World Series. There will be no more excuses for the Cubs. While that may seem daunting, some winning traditions they have will never change.

Despite added pressures now that they have one, the great traditions that have continued over the last 100 years within the Cubs franchise will continue on, just as they did before. We will still attend the famous Wrigleyville stadium as we take a bite into the famous ballpark hot dogs at the games. We will still chant the famous lyrics “Go Cubs Go” throughout the stadium after a home run by the Cubs and will continue to watch in awe of our winning team.

Most importantly of all though, we will still rally behind the famous players that have made the Cubs who they are today. Names like Anthony Rizzo, David Ross, and Kris Bryant will never be forgotten as the players that led the Cubs to a World Series victory.