Millions of Cubs fans celebrate World Series title with parade, rally

CHICAGO – Cubs players were welcomed home and celebrated by millions of cheering and screaming fans lining the streets of Addison, Michigan and Columbus, before making their way to Hutchinson Field for the post-parade World Series championship rally.

Small children clad in their jerseys and Cubs T-shirts sat on the shoulders of adults, while others stood on their tippy toes or climbed on top of statues and street signs if only to catch a glimpse of their favorite Cubs player.

Players posed together for photos and others stayed close to family on the double-decker buses as they made their way along the parade route. Blasts of red and blue confetti shot into the sky and onto the crowd as each bus passed.

Hundreds of McHenry County fans made their way to Chicago well before sunrise in order to make it to the day’s festivities. Many boarded Metra trains filled to capacity well before they made it to the final stop, causing delays despite increased service and capacity.

Still, that didn’t keep many away.

“The Cubs deserve this, and this is their way to show us they appreciate us,” Woodstock resident Michelle Soto said.

Soto and her friend, Donna Jensen, were among those who awaited the train in Woodstock just before 7 a.m. Donning a cast on her right arm, Soto said she broke it while watching Game 4 downtown with friends and family.

“I did it for the Cubs,” she said, laughing.

Jensen, a lifelong Cubs fan, said she wanted to attend the parade because her mom is a die-hard Cubs fan and she isn’t able to attend.

“I just wanted to be there,” Jensen said.

Cubs catcher David Ross posed for a selfie in front of the multitude of roaring fans in the Grant Park rally.

Ross and the other players sang “Go Cubs Go” from the stage along with the crowd. “It happened, baby. It happened!” proclaimed infielder Anthony Rizzo to adoring cheers.

Team manager Joe Maddon – wearing a stocking cap, sunglasses and a jersey over a “We didn’t suck” T-shirt – looked out over a sea of blue.

“Welcome to Cubstock 2016!” Maddon said. “This is an incredible moment for all of us. Never have I experienced anything like Wrigley Field on a nightly basis. ... I want to congratulate you fans also. Thank you for being so patient.”

The victory party is new territory for long-suffering fans of the Cubs, who hadn’t won a World Series title in more than a century before their Game 7, extra-inning thriller Wednesday night in Cleveland. The last time the Cubs even reached the Fall Classic was in 1945.

City officials estimated that 5 million people attended Friday’s festivities, compared to the 2 million people who attended similar events when the Blackhawks won their third Stanley Cup in six years in 2015.

After the end of the parade, crowds headed to the rally or traversed throughout the city, taking in the celebration and filling the streets still shut down to traffic. The city of Chicago dyed the Chicago River a bright shade of blue this morning to match the Cubs’ colors, a tradition usually only found on St. Patrick’s Day when it’s dyed green.

Friday was already a scheduled day off for Chicago Public Schools and Gov. Bruce Rauner declared Friday as “World Champion Chicago Cubs Day” statewide.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.