By Bryan Bloodworth
BLOOMINGTON – Carlie Russell was among the 500-plus Chicago Cubs’ fans, who turned out Wednesday at Illinois Wesleyan’s Shirk Center, to get a picture with the World Series trophy.
It didn’t matter that it was a school day for the 11-year-old Chiddix sixth-grader.
“For this it’s fine,” Carlie said about missing school.
“It’s a big day for her,” her father Craig Russell. “She’s excited. This is all about her, not me. This is her day.”
Ashley Jerman, a 22-year-old Illinois State student from Channahon, was the first in line to see the trophy. She arrived with a friend at IWU at 8 p.m. Tuesday night and spent the night in her car in the Shirk Center parking lot.
“It wasn’t too bad,” said the life-long Cubs’ fan. “I wanted to be the first one.”
The Cubs have had the trophy on tour since December and will travel to over 100 cities before coming to rest at spring training in Mesa, Ariz. It will then be on permanent display at Wrigley Field during the season. The trophy was with the team Monday when it visited the White House.
Allen Hermeling, the Senior Director of Corporate Partnership, said the tour is a chance for Cubs’ fans to celebrate the end of 108 years of suffering.
“Really this is just a celebration of generations of support from Cubs fans and really an overwhelming desire from our ownership group on down to deliver that No. 1 goal, which was to win a World Series,” he said.
“We knew we had the best fans in baseball. We knew we had a passionate fan base, but I think even we’ve been surprised by not just the numbers, which have been staggering, but just the passionate engagement. We knew that Cubs’ nation was really big. I think we’re seeing it on a whole new level now.”
Hermeling also said it’s an opportunity to contact with the younger generation.
“They’re growing up, not necessarily knowing the pains of being a Cubs’ fan,” he added. “We really hope we can introduce them from going from lovable losers to lovable winners.
“Every single person that we interact with seems to have a story about an experience with a loved one or some way that they consumed the Cubs or experiences at Wrigley Field.”
Bryan Bloodworth can be reached at [email protected]
