CHICAGO -- The game ended less than an hour ago and I've already made my way back through the smiling, singing crowds around Wrigley Field. From my hotel room on the 18th floor, I can hear the dull thump of celebratory music from somewhere down below, and as soon as I finish writing this column, I'm headed back out into the madness. Chicago feels like a South American capital after a big World Cup win. Right now, I can hear a driver laying on his horn.
It's a great night to be alive, whether you're a player on a baseball team going back to Cleveland, or a person who believes deeply in what that team's success might mean to them and their family.