How Can Anyone Not Root For the Cubs (Except Dodgers' Fans)?

San Francisco Giants fans, at least those who watched them after the All-Star break, had a sense that at some point during the playoffs, the Giants' bullpen would cough up the lead and blow another save. For a variety of reasons, primarily the aging of three key relievers who helped the Giants win three World Series (namely, Sergio Romo, Santiago Casilla, and Javier López), the Giants' bullpen simply wasn't that good this year. In fact, FiveThirtyEight called it "atrocious" ("Major League Baseball Is About To Get Random"). Although I never root against the Giants, I have to admit that if their bullpen was going to blow a save in the playoffs, I'd much rather have them do it against the Cubs than against the Nationals, Dodgers, Blue Jays, or Cleveland as long as (and this is important) the Cubs win it all.

Which brings me to the primary point of this post. Except for Dodger fans (and maybe Mets fans), how can anyone not root for the Cubs? It's been over 100 years since they've won the World Series, and it's time. They have a great manager, a great group of ballplayers, and a great set of fans. So, why not? Let 2016 be the year of the Cubs -- although it would've been really cool if they'd won it last year with the prediction in one of the Back to the Future movies ("Back to the Future? Will the Cubbies Win the World Series in 2015?"). Who knows, it could be another 108 years before they get another shot (let's hope not).