WRIGLEY FIELD — Maybe today.
The "maybe" in 2015 died in the fourth game of the National League Championship Series, as the New York Mets closed out the Cubs on their way to losing to the Kansas City Royals.
But Cubs fans, in their "wait till next year" mentality, told themselves maybe it will be 2016.
And what a 2016 it has been. From debuting the most gorgeous clubhouse in the majors to turning around a 3-1 deficit to tie the Cleveland Indians 3-3 in the World Series, these Cubs have won the hearts and renewed the hopes of fans both old and new.
It all comes down to this: Game 7 of the World Series, starting at 7:08 p.m. Wednesday in Cleveland, will end one of the two longest World Series championship droughts (the Cubs have been waiting 40 years longer, but who's counting?).
Indians ace Corey Kluber will face off against Kyle Hendricks for the Cubs, who hasn't allowed a run in his last two starts. Fans in Wrigleyville during Game 6 Tuesday kept hoping for a Kyle Schwarber home run before the series ends, and his chance could come in the final game, along with Anthony Rizzo, who knocked in a run facing Kluber earlier in the World Series.
Some Wrigleyville bars plan to charge a cover, expecting crowds akin to weekend home games, when tens of thousands of people poured into the neighborhood. Massive bar lines have stretched around the block, while a clamp down on occupancy limits pushed many taverns to implement covers or other means of restricting overcrowding.
Here are some of our favorite moments of the Cubs 2016 season:
1. The Cubs clinched the NLCS on The Pink Hat Guy's birthday
Jon Hamm's trolling Cardinals hat has nothing on the pink baseball cap Jim Anixter has been wearing to Cubs games since 1990. "The Pink Hat Guy" was turning 72 years old on Oct. 22, and he had a big birthday wish.
Clinch the National League Championship in Game 6, and the Cubs would be winning on his birthday.
And boy, did they.
The man said he wears his signature pink hat and green sweatshirt so his wife can recognize him on television. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
2. That time when Anthony Rizzo proved nice guys finish first
Anthony Rizzo has proved time and again that he's a class act. It was no different during Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, when first baseman Rizzo dropped his bat prematurely, thinking he'd drawn a walk that umpire Angel Hernandez called as a strike.
A couple innings later, Rizzo apologized in a conversation captured by Fox Sports 1 microphones.
"My fault on that strike," Rizzo said.
"No worries," Hernandez responded. "And you know what's best of it? You come back and you tell me that. That's how good of a guy you are."
3. Cubs fans writing messages of support on Wrigley Field — and the ballpark leaving it there
Fans brought chalk from the dusty corners of their garages and from the classrooms where they teach to write messages along the Wrigley Field walls facing Sheffield and Waveland avenues.
Some thanked the 2016 Cubbies for "making me a Cubs fan," while others hoped they won it for a family member or other lifelong Cubs fan. The messages and doodles remained through Tuesday night, with more people adding on as Game 6 progressed.
Support for the Chicago Cubs was chalked onto Wrigley Field's brick walls over the weekend and remained at the start of Game 6 Tuesday. [DNAinfo/Ariel Cheung]
4. The guy who ate 160+ hot dogs with unique toppings for every Cubs game
No one likes hot dogs that much, but Brad Tlusty made a bet with his brother and hasn't looked back. He's tried a mayonnaise dog and one wrapped in a cinnamon roll bun, and after Wednesday, he'll be taking a nice long break from hot dogs.
At least until next season, he said.
5. How Chicago couples handled getting married during the World Series weekend
Here's devotion for you: When A.J. Etsch and Jaime Grebitus married Saturday, they installed wide-screen televisions and gave away blue wristbands that say "go Cubs go."
Some couples walking down the aisle had last-minute juggling of guests with tickets to the game and people checking the score on their cell phones, but most found ways to make it work.
6. The stunning new Wrigley Field
Perhaps the Cubs owe their burgeoning success to their swanky new digs. This year, their underground clubhouse opened with a man cave, glowing locker room and training room fit for (dare we say it?) world champions.
Over the winter, the Cubs replaced much of the Wrigley Field infrastructure, beam by beam, waiting until Opening Day to unveil the old girl in her new splendor.
The new sunburst details from the inside of the field. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
7. How much good can spread from something terrible
When the Cubs acquired Aroldis Chapman in late July, fans wrestled with his history of domestic violence and the team's need for his fiery pitches to close games.
To find peace with her rooting for the Cubs, Caitlin Swieca pledged to donate $10 each time Chapman recorded a save. She launched the Twitter hashtag #pitchin4dv and encouraged others to join in donating to anti-domestic violence groups like Domestic Violence Legal Council of Chicago.
As of Thursday night, fans had donated more than $26,000 to the non-profit, with others also giving to additional charities. That's worth a W flag or two, for sure.
8. Fans of all ages all over the world are cheering on the Cubs
The team has had an awful lot of bad years, but fans have stuck with their Cubbies through it all. Whether they've waited 98 years like Sauganash's Don Savage or loved the Cubs from afar like world's most isolated Cubs fan Susan Aikens, fans have been backing the Cubs from all over the world — even the South Side of Chicago!
The Cubs and Wrigley Field are 95 percent owned by an entity controlled by a trust established for the benefit of the family of Joe Ricketts, owner and CEO of DNAinfo.com. Joe Ricketts has no direct involvement in the management of the iconic team.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here.
