Prayer, Logic Or Superstition: Cubs Fans Look For Whatever It Takes
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Another do-or-die game is just hours away for the Cubs on Tuesday night, and the fans are looking everywhere they can for signs of hope their team can come back from a 3-1 deficit in the World Series.
After the Cubs squeezed out a victory in Game 5 on Sunday, the pressure is on for Game 6, and perhaps the person feeling it most is Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta. The Cubs have lost two of his three starts in this year's playoffs, but he dominated Indians hitters in his last start, in Game 2 of the World Series for a 5-1 win.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon and Indians manager Terry Francona were using different tactics leading up to Tuesday night's game.
Maddon allowed his players to enjoy Halloween at home in Chicago before taking an evening flight to Cleveland. He encouraged the team to dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating with their kids on Halloween.
Meantime, Indians players spent part of Monday on the field, holding a light workout. Cleveland hopes starting pitcher Josh Tomlin can lead the charge on four days' rest and clinch the series on their home turf.
Cubs fans are confident the team can stay alive with a win, and some fans are sprinkling in some superstition to seek out supernatural powers to help their team.
"Everything's superstitious,"Asher Miller said. "Gotta hang the W flag in the right way, and knock on the right amount of wood. My roommate knocks on wood in a certain spot every single time they win, and then he'll shave if they lose, won't shave if they win."
Miller is hoping to have a hairy roommate Wednesday morning. He said he's also reaching out to his grandmother.
"Everybody's channeling their Cub fan ancestors," he said. "She was literally a member of the 'Die-Hard Cubs Fan Club.' She had a card that was a real thing. She used to take us to games when we were younger."
Other fans are praying or looking for logical explanations as to why the Cubs will win Tuesday.
"Pray that Ernie Banks and Ron Santo are looking down along with everybody in Chicago," Rick Azzaro said. 'We have Lake Michigan. They've got a little tiny pond over there. So we're bigger and better, and hopefully we're going to do it tonight. We pray they're gonna do it tonight."
Fellow fan Grant Lundahl said the Cubs need to get their offense going after being shut out twice and averaging only two runs per game in the first five games of the World Series.
"They need to get a few hits in the first inning, score some runs out of the box," he said.
Whether they turn to superstition, prayer or logic, Cubs fans are hoping the World Series goes to a winner-take-all Game 7 on Wednesday.