It was 7 a.m. on a brisk Friday morning. The sun had not yet risen, and instead of heading towards school, we drove in the opposite direction towards the La Fox train station to celebrate the Cubs World Series Parade. As my friend Sam, her mom, and I pulled in, we noticed that the parking lot had been completely full for quite some time, and decided to illegally park in the grass and worry about the consequences later. We made it just in time to catch the train and hopped into the empty cart to take our seats. The avalanche of cheerful Cubs fans increased more and more with each stop until the train was completely full by the fourth stop and unable to hold any more people. The three of us were squished next to an elderly man, his daughter, and her two young sons. They explained to us how excited they were to get to experience such a historic moment all together, and that they grew up as die-hard fans. The train ride to Chicago was a magical experience, and I will never forget the excitement amongst the crowd of Cubs fans as we all sang and got revved up for the joyous day lying ahead.

Once we arrived into the city, we bid our fellow passengers goodbye (and good luck) as we scurried off of the train car. As we stepped out onto the streets we were swept up by such a huge sea of blue and red, you’d think you were part of the parade itself. It took us about two hours to find a spot that wouldn’t suffocate the three of us due to the unreal amount of people. Yet, out of the blue we stumbled upon the perfect opportunity to be right in the front row on Michigan Avenue when a group of girls decided to leave a half hour before the parade began. A large crowd eventually formed around us and we decided to make the most of our down time and talk to the fellow strangers around us. To our left there was a young couple who had actually just moved to Chicago that year from Seoul, South Korea. The young man stated that his girlfriend was actually a huge baseball fan even when they lived in South Korea, and that the Cubs were her team, so naturally they were extremely excited to see their team win the year they moved to Chicago. After about an hour, the parade finally made it to Michigan Avenue, and the crowd began to roar. The parade itself was nothing special, it was the atmosphere and the amazing fans that made the experience as a whole an event to remember.