They’ve been downing shots. Crying. Cheering. Sitting on blankets next to a fire pit. Swilling champagne. High-fiving strangers.
Even Tuesday night for Game 1 of the World Series in Cleveland, when the Cubs got trounced 6-0, the fans continued to hoot at Timothy O’Toole’s, a Gurnee sports bar, when David Ross threw out a runner trying to steal second base.
Every victory is sweet for Lake County’s Chicago Cubs fans, who are filling local sports bars to celebrate the postseason and root for the once but hopefully no longer goat-jinxed Major League Baseball team from the North Side.
Local sports bar owners are reaping the rewards of the long-sought title run — saying the curse is over because the Cubs won the pennant, but they know there will be another week of ups and downs in their establishments as fans continue to hope beyond hope.
“Crowds on Tuesday nights during the postseason games have been like a typical Friday night or better,” said Aaron Chervin, owner of Booner’s Place, a sports bar in Waukegan.
“Nearly every one of the 100 seats in the house have been filled (on game nights during post season),” Chervin added. “We get a great crowd. We’ve been very busy. We’ve had beer-bucket specials on game days during the postseason.”
Chervin said that “business is good when any Chicago sports team is winning,” adding when the Blackhawks have won in postseason games, he’s had to turn some away from the bar because of the fire code that only allows so many people in the establishment.
Chervin, however, like other sports bar owners and bartenders, seems to be having more fun watching the excited fans and cheering on the Cubbies rather than thinking about the profits.
It’s the Cubs after all — the team that hasn’t won a World Series for 108 years.
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On Saturday, when the Cubs beat the Dodgers to earn the chance to go to the World Series for the first time in more than 71 years, the patrons “went absolutely crazy,” said Arthur Bloom, a bartender at Timothy O’Toole’s in Gurnee.
“People were buying bottles of beer to spray all over everybody else,” he said. “And as soon as the Cubs won, I was making shots for everybody — lots of tequila.”
Chervin, meanwhile, was pouring free Champagne for all his patrons — 12 bottles worth, he said.
At Emil’s in Grayslake on Saturday, fans were all cheering and clapping, said owner Bob Bowes, who features 25 televisions, with three sets outdoors next to a fire pit. “People bring their blankets and watch the game,” he said.
“I’m expecting to be busy at least a week after the World Series if they win. People will still be cheering,” he added, saying that fans will likely order a Las Vegas bomb, which consists of Crown Royal, peach snaps, cranberry juice and Red Bull.
People come to the bars to join like-minded fans, said Chervin.
“You can turn to your left or your right and give a high five when there’s a pivotal play. People want an experience,” he said. “On Saturday, we were high-fiving even when the Dodgers were making those errors. It’s been a long time since a Cubs fan has been able to experience this.”
Two Cubs fans who have never experienced the thrill of watching the Cubs go to the world Series are Gurnee residents Catrina Copenharve and Julie Kruschwitz. They’ve been friends and Cubs fans for more than two decades.
“We say it every year: ‘This is the year,'” said Kruschwitz. “It finally feels like this could be it.”
“It’s cathartic. It’s everything you’ve waited for,” said Copenharve. Watching the game at O’Toole’s Tuesday, she added, “is surreal.”
Bartender Nicole Frer of Lindenhurst agreed, saying “we bawled our eyes out” when the Cubs took the National League pennant on Saturday.
“My mom is 63. We’ve never had this,” she said. “The Cubs fans are so awesome. They band together.”
Despite the fact that the Cubs dropped Game 1 on Tuesday, the Cubs are the best team, Chervin said — adding that when they win, his patrons will have a surprise waiting for them at Booner’s. More Champagne?
“You’ll have to come and see,” he said. “They’re gonna win. I don’t know how many games it’ll take, but they’re gonna win.”
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.