Cubs’ fans determined yet nervous ahead of Game Four

By Nick Carey

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Chicago Cubs fans were nervous but determined as their team prepared to take on the Cleveland Indians in Game Four of the World Series on Saturday that could level the Fall Classic or put them on the brink of elimination.

After a tense 1-0 win on Friday, the Indians entered Saturday with 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series sending their ace Corey Kluber on the mound looking to extend their advantage.

A couple of hours before game time, Cody Kozalski and Marc Gomez sat on a bench on the shore of Lake Michigan a half mile east of the stadium, pausing on their way to a Halloween party.

Kozalski, 22 was dressed as a bear cub, Gomez, 23, as a Rastafarian, and Gomez said he was afraid the Cubs were doomed to continue their championship drought that dates back over a century to 1908.

“I’m not sure I can even bear to watch,” he said.

But Kozalski reminded him that the last time Cubs were 2-1 down in a series, against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, they came back to win it.

“They won that series just a week ago,” Gomez said. “The Cubs can still get back in this and win, they just need to play better than they did last night.

The atmosphere outside iconic Wrigley Field was still festive Saturday, though it had lost a little of the carnival feeling of Friday when fans were giddy at hosting their first World Series game in 71 years.

Darrel Johnson, 27, and his girlfriend Alicia Dupont, 25, stood in a long line outside the stadium, all decked out in Cubby blue from head to toe and full of nervous energy.

“The Cubs have to calm down and take control of this series,” Johnson said. “They have to even it up tonight.”

Even a number of Chicagoans Reuters spoke to around the stadium, who claimed to have zero interest in baseball, said the Cubs have to put an end to their long decades-long history of losing.

Kathleen Kruger, 57, a long-term resident who lives a half dozen blocks from Wrigley, said she had never watched a full game of baseball in her life, but said she expected them to deliver this year.

“I mean, come on, 108 years is far too long,” she said. “It’s time to bring the damn championship home.”

(Editing by Steve Keating)