Cursed no more: The Chicago Cubs World Series Win in pop culture and gaming

On this day 10 years ago in 2016, the Chicago Cubs finally won their historic World Series championship for the first time since 1908, snapping the longest championship drought in North American pro sports. In 7 games and a 17-minute rain delay, the Chicago Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians) in the road game.

I could go a little deeper into memories of how much of a magical time it was as a Cubs fan to experience October Baseball and seeing how Chicagoland celebrated the historic championship… and how such a monumental championship happened during my second year of college back then. But, I digress.

For many Chicagoans, this Cubs championship felt like it was never going to happen within our lifetimes. Pop culture over the decades spat so many jokes and predictions of how long it would take for the Cubbies to finally win that elusive MLB championship. Now that I (or we) can look back fondly to a sports moment that happened a decade ago, there’s no other time like now to look back at movies, TV shows, and even gaming depicted a Chicago Cubs championship. Keep in mind that the following picks won’t include any movies/documentaries made after the 2016 World Series.

Put Some Money on the Cubbies

During October last year, I looked back on the 10th anniversary of the date that Doc Brown, Marty McFly, and Lorraine travelled to the year futuristic year of 2015 and when the Cubbies would supposedly win the WS championship… against Miami. The late 80s via Back to the Future Part 2 imagined that the Cubs would win the World Series 30 years into the future. It’s just that the scenario set up in the movie would not be possible, since both the Cubs and the then Florida Marlins were both in the National League and thus, unable to face each other in the World Series.

Nonetheless, the real October 21, 2015 arrived 11 years ago, and during a visit with Jimmy Kimmel, the BttF duo were shocked how our 2015 was compared to the one they were supposed to visit. It was an even bigger shock to Doc and Marty that the Cubbies weren’t going to win, nor reach the World Series despite playing in the MLB playoffs the same month. Nowadays we can laugh a little at this pop culture depiction, knowing the BttF sequel’s predicton was barely a year off from the real championship.

Cubs Win World Series… in 2012…?

How many of you still remember this rather obscure tv show from 2012? The short lived NBC series Revolution took place in a world where the power went out worldwide and during the collapse of modern society, the USA fractured into smaller countries/militias. Revolution was short-lived because it was cancelled in May 2014, largely due to falling viewership/interest following a rather lengthy hiatus in the middle of the show’s life (as reported by Deadline).

A trailer for the series took place during the era after the global blackout. The main characters were walking outside of Wrigley Field in Chicago, the MLB stadium already overtaken by nature. The original version of the trailer showed the Cubs were the 2012 World Series champions before the global blackout took place. But in a real life twist reported by Yahoo! sports, that same scene had the 2012 championship sign digitally removed by the time the episode premiered.

Oh well, it was yet another inaccurate interpretation of a Cubs championship, as Chicago’s north side team was still a really bad team at the time. 2012’s real life WS champions ended up being the San Francisco Giants, following their 4-0 sweep against the Detroit Tigers (via the MLB website).

MLB The Show’s Turn

Before November 2, 2016, yearly sports games like the MLB The Show series always gave Cubs fans a way to manifest the elusive championship title. One of those MLB video games was MLB 12 The Show. The baseball video game featured a comedic, tear-jerking (or tear-baiting) commercial of Chicago Cubs fans celebrating the long-awaited WS title… only to reveal it was a Cubs fan creating the event in game.

This time, I’ll refrain from explaining how this vision of a Cubs championship differed from reality. Hint: refer above to who the Cubs defeated in the 2016 World Series and where it happened. On a happier note, I invite you to watch this behind the scenes filming of this same commercial. Can you imagine how it was like for the extras filming fake sports championship scenes just for an MLB video game?

Baseball’s Youngest ROTY

If you grew up in the 90s, do you remember the 1993 sports comedy Rookie of the Year? It starred Thomas Ian Nicholas as 12-year old Henry Rowengartner. After trying to catch the ball during a baseball game and breaking his arm in an accident, Henry would discover his arm healed in a miraculous way that allowed him to throw fast balls to as fast as 100 mph. After he is recruited by the struggling Chicago Cubs, Henry would face many challenges in the Major League Baseball. Though in the end, he would lift the Cubs to ultimately win the WS title.

Though we are now through with the main picks of pop culture moments envisioning a historic sports championship title, there’s still a few more honorary mentions I’d like to get through, including ones that may focus more on joking about the 100+ years of struggle for the Chicago Cubs to finally become champions once again.

Honorary Mentions

In Season 1, Episode 6: “Two Aces” of the Apple TV streaming series Ted Lasso, AFC Richmond’s new Striker player Dani Rojas got injured during a training session, allegedly from a long-standing curse from the team’s treatment room at Nelson Road Stadium. This curse was later explained as originating during the early years of World War 1.

During a team gathering at The Crown & Anchor, Coach Lasso was convinced they can reverse the curse. He cited how both the Curse of the Bambino and the Curse of the Billy Goat eventually ended for the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs respectively (though he didn’t mention the curses by name).

Heading back into the gaming world, 2009 saw the release of the 2.5D Metroidvania title Shadow Complex, while a remaster six years later in 2015. While main protagonist Jason Flemming (voiced by Nathan Drake himself, Nolan North) was sneaking around the base of the game’s enemy organization following the obduction of his girlfriend Clair, he overhears a humorous exchange between two soldiers. They casually mention plans to liberate the Chicago Cubs from the city, believing it as doing a favor during the team’s ongoing championship drought.

In The Simpsons Season 18, Episode 18 “The Boys of Bummer“, Bart was helping Springfield’s Little league team the Isotots win a championship title against opponent Shelbyville. After Bart drops the ball in a critical error that cost the team the Little League title, the denizens of Springfield turns Bart into a social outcast.

This is a parody/reference of the October 2003 Steve Bartman Incident where the titular Cubs fan caught the ball at the stands, preventing player Moises Alou from catching the ball. This fan interference (intentional or not) ultimately costed the Cubs their opportunity to finally break their championship drought, as the incident gave the Florida Marlins their chance to catch up with and advance past the Chicago Cubs into the 2003 World Series. Steve Bartman was made public enemy Number 1 by Chicago sports fans everywhere following that event, but all would be forgiven after the Cubs presented him with a championship ring 13 years later in apology.

At last, during the final season of the popular sitcom Parks & Recreation, the main characters took a trip to the Windy City, considering the show takes places in the fictional Indiana town of Pawnee. During this visit to Chicago, the city is shown be in a very peaceful mood, as the Chicago Cubs finally won the World Series by this time.

Where there any Cubs championship predictions in pop culture that we missed? Let us know on our social media!

Francis Parco | Associate Editor

Francis has been gaming since he was little, with PlayStation as his most preferred platform growing up. He also games on PC, though. Other interests include Star Wars (a whole lot of it), Lego Bionicle, Marvel, and especially other Disney properties.