Rurik members recall childhood memories

The life of a Chicago Cubs fan. Where do you even begin?

Before Wednesday, Nov. 2, the Chicago Cubs and their fans carried the burden of 108 years without a World Series win, the longest championship drought in all professional sports history.

The catchphrase Cubs fans muttered over the last century has been ‘just once before I die,’ a plea that fell on deaf ears decade after decade. Well, not anymore. They did it; the dream is reality.

It was October 7, 1945. A 13 year-old boy named George hopped onto a trolley with a ticket in his back pocket. He entered Wrigley Field through the left field bleacher gate. Sitting in the bleachers, George Rurik watched the Cubs lose to the Detroit Tigers, 8-4, in what was to be the last World Series game played in the north side of Chicago until 2016.

That 13-year-old boy became my grandfather, and his grandparents were the inception of our family’s love for the Cubs, making me a fifth generation fan.

Grandpa George, now 85, grew up a few miles from Wrigley Field and tells stories of how he would ride the trolley to the stadium as a youth and sit in the bleachers for 55 cents. Daytime double-headers and trolley rides back home were a normal routine long before there were lights at the stadium.

“My parents were Cubs fans,” Grandpa George said. “My grandparents were too, but not as much. My grandparents would go to a game occasionally, especially to see Andy Pafko.”

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Andy Pafko was an outfielder for the Cubs back in the 1940s and early ‘50s. He had a special day in the mid ‘50s when the Cubs honored him. Pafko was the left fielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers when Bobby Thomson hit the famous Shot Heard ‘Round the World into the left field seats.

“The reason they were interested in honoring Pafko in that game is because he was a Slovak and my grandparents were from Slovakia,” Grandpa George said. “We went to that game as a whole family, including grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Later I got to meet Pafko. He lived in the same town in Wisconsin as my grandparents. I actually met him as a neighbor, not a baseball player.”

Growing up on the north side of Chicago usually meant an affiliation as a Cubs fan, opposed to the south side of Chicago where most support the White Sox. More often than not, Sundays were reserved for church, family and Cubs games.

“Sunday afternoon was a family day,” Grandpa George said. “You’d go to church then have a meal and a family gathering. After that it was either being together with family or you would go to a sporting event, like a Chicago Cubs game.”

My grandfather passed on this love to his three sons. My dad, Scott Rurik, the middle of the three and arguably the biggest Cubs fan I know, wanted to ensure that my two older brothers and I were Cubs fans. He made sure our first baseball experience was at Wrigley Field even though we live 2,000 miles away.

Scott grew up admiring Cubs players in the late ‘60s into the ‘70s as a kid, idolizing them both inside and outside the stadium.

“As a grade school kid, I spent many hours being Don Kessinger, Glenn Beckert, Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, Randy Hundley or Ron Santo,” Scott said. “These were the key players on the 1969 Cubs. I would put my hat on like them, enter the batter’s box like them, swing the bat like them, and then do a home run trot just like them.

“These were my heroes and idols,” Scott continued. “These were the Chicago Cubs that made me love this team, and I knew I would follow them for all my days. ‘We’ll get them next year’ was something I’d say every September. That is until the fall of 2016. Now, the Cubs victory in the 2016 World Series not only validates my love for this team, but saying I’m a Cubs fan is no longer a tired punchline in a crummy sports joke.”

My most recent trip to Chicago was early August of 2015. My whole experience in Wrigleyville was different from what I remembered when I attended my first game there in 2012. The entire vibe felt different. The place had a sense of expectation. The fans were restless and a little nervous they were about to be disappointed by this new, rebuilt Cubs team that was bringing with them some hope, while simultaneously filling the stadium with ecstasy.

The moment that cemented me as a lifelong Cubs fan happened while on a tour of the stadium, the morning before an afternoon game in 2015. We were walking along the dirt behind home plate while a few players were taking early batting practice. One of the pitching coaches rolled a ball out to my mom, who picked it up and handed it to me. Third baseman, Kris Bryant, 2015’s NL rookie of the year and likely MVP for 2016, was sitting on a gatorade cooler not far away.

I called out, “Hey Kris, will you sign my ball?” and he jumped right up and said “Sure buddy.” He walked over to me like he knew me.

After he signed the ball, we took a selfie and then left the ballpark. Reflecting over it next door at Murphy’s Bleachers, the neighborhood sports bar, we all wished he would have signed my jersey: a Kris Bryant Jersey. The Cubs went on to sweep the Giants in that series. Go Cubs Go!

Today, the Cubs boast many talented players such as Anthony Rizzo, Bryant, Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta, among many others. Throughout the years, the Cubs have had many great players like Ernie Banks, Ryne Sandberg, Hack Wilson and Cap Anson. George Rurik had the privilege to watch many of these past greats.

“Phil Cavarretta is the one that really comes to mind,” George said. “He was a first baseman and would be a lot like the present day Anthony Rizzo. He was a left-hander, hit home runs, runs batted in, and was the cleanup hitter. Another player was Stan Hack, a third baseman, and also a very good player.”

While Scott’s love for Chicago is not based upon his father’s love for the city and team, he appreciates our family’s dedication to our shared passion for the Cubs.

“It’s a generational thing,” Scott said. “It kind of validates a father when his boys appreciate the same thing as him out of their own free will. All around Wrigley are vendors, restaurants and pubs, like Murphy’s.

“If a game starts at 1 p.m., everyone is there at 9 a.m.,” Scott continued. “If they win, everyone sticks around because it’s a festive area. It’s a quaint neighborhood, residential area. People hang out around the ballpark even during a game to enjoy the festive atmosphere.”

I am thankful that I only had 15 short years to wait to see them win, instead of 85, like my grandfather, or 55, like my father. I did not get to watch the loaded 1969 team with Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins and Ron Santo or the 1984 team that included Ryne Sandberg and Rick Sutcliffe. Nor I was not old enough to remember the infamous 2003 collapse with Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, and the unfortunate Steve Bartman.

My brothers and I have come to love the city of Chicago itself thanks to our father, Scott, and our grandfather, George. The beauty of the city, the history, stories and memories from Chicago are priceless to us.

“One of the benefits of my being a Cubs fan, is almost without exception, means your dad is a Cubs fan,” Scott said. “When my dad turned 70-years-old, his three boys, of which I am the middle son, took him back to Chicago and the four of us spent a glorious day at Wrigley Field. We even had the centerfield scoreboard say ‘Happy 70th Birthday to George Rurik.’ Grandpa George got to relive his childhood that day.”

After falling to a miserable 3-1 deficit in the World Series against the Cleveland Indians, most Cubs fans nationwide were already accepting defeat as “the lovable losers.” Then Game 5 and the Cubs’ memorable comeback began and won a narrow victory behind the electric duo of Jon Lester, Aroldis Chapman and a catalyzing Kris Bryant home run. Game 6 arrived and the bats of Chicago came alive behind a Addison Russell grand slam and 13 hits, allowing them to cruise into an unimaginable Game 7, winning 9-3.

How does one put Game 7 of the 2016 World Series into words? You can not! It was a roller-coaster of a game, spilling out emotions of 108 years. It lasted nearly five hours and included unpredictable plays, a blown four-run lead, a 17-minute rain delay and some 10th inning heroics that sealed the deal for the Cubs and ended the curse. Some argue it is the greatest ending to a World Series of all time.

The curses are now over for the Chicago Cubs. They are no longer the lovable losers. They have finally triumphed over not just over every other team in baseball, but over years of losing, being mocked and the jokes made about them.

“People have enjoyed Cubs games for years,” Scott Rurik said. “There are many familiar faces at Wrigley and you become friends quickly with them because of the common bond of the Cubs and their history. Not only that, you meet people from Chicago and Cubs fans almost anywhere and share a camaraderie with them. Now everyone has a common bond for 2016.”

The affection for the Cubs is not just shared within our family or in Chicago. The parade boasted over 5 million people, the largest gathering of people in the history of the United States.

For more sports articles, read about the recap of the World Series.

This author can be reached via twitter @alexrurik23 and via Alexander Rurik.