'We're going to win' -- Fans gather in Chicago to celebrate playoff-bound Cubs
<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Hope springs eternal - or at least for 74 years, in the case of Rosemary Libby.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">The 77-year-old Barrington resident says she's been a Cubs fan since she was 3 years old, in 1933. And although she's suffered the heartbreak of decades, Libby insists it is finally "next year" for the lovable losers.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">"We're going to win," she said, citing the team's pitching roster.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">A few thousand like-minded Cubs fans gathered under a dreary sky Monday at Chicago's Daley Plaza to cheer on the North Siders, as they prepare to start their first playoff series since 2003. The Cubs clinched the Central Division of the National League last week and will face the Arizona Diamondbacks in a five-game series that begins in Phoenix Wednesday.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">At the Chicago rally, many attendees dressed in Cubbie red and blue, and some held signs or banners while team brass, former players, Wrigley Field mainstay Ronnie "Woo Woo" Vickers and politicians celebrated the Cubs' 2007 success under manager Lou Piniella.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Mayor Richard Daley - technically a White Sox fan - suggested sending Piniella to help in Springfield, a reference to paralytic infighting among lawmakers and Gov. Rod Blagojevich there. Blagojevich, a lifelong Cubs fan, hinted that Piniella has influenced his own governing style.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">"As governor, I stopped asking myself ... if it is the right thing or wrong thing (to do)," Blagojevich said. "Now, the first question I ask myself as I govern Illinois is: What would Lou do?"</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">The Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908 and have not participated in one since 1945. Speakers at the rally did not mention the team's still-painful implosion of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>four years ago, when the Cubs were five outs from going to the World Series, as they played the Florida Marlins. An escalating series of mishaps - including interference from outfield fan Steve Bartman - reversed the momentum.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">"This is the year - it's gonna happen," said Judy Campagna, 46, a Cubs fan from Pittsburgh who spent the weekend in Chicago. "I can't wait to go home and start watching. It's going to be fun."</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Major League Baseball organized rallies across the country for ballclubs that are advancing to the playoffs.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Mike Ramsey can be reached at (312) 857-2323 or ghns-ramsey@sbcglobal.net.</font>
Want to see history in the making?
Tickets for the home games of the Cubs series against the Arizona Diamondbacks go on sale Thursday at 10 a.m.