Wrigleyville "Busy Like Summertime" Ahead Of Cubs-Cardinals Playoff Matchup
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's playoff pandemonium in Chicago. The mood is electric as Cubs fans can barely wait for Friday night's National League Division Series opener against the archrival Cardinals in St. Louis.
It's the first ever playoff matchup for one of the oldest rivalries in baseball.
With the Cubs on the road for Games 1 and 2 on Friday and Saturday, fans are expected to pack Wrigleyville bars to watch the big matchup.
North Clark Street looked more like Cannery Row on Friday, as beer truck after beer truck lined the street in the shadow of Wrigley Field. Just how many beer cans did it add up to?
"Maybe around 2,000 cases; maybe about 300 barrels just for Wrigleyville alone," said beer man Leo Martinez.
And that was just one supplier dropping off a hoard of suds in Wrigleyville for Friday's playoff game.
"Busy like summertime," Martinez said.
That's because the Cubs are hoping to go all the way for the first time in more than a century.
Sportsworld owner Steve Shavitz said if the Cubs do go all the way, the celebrations will be unprecedented.
"I don't think we've ever seen anything like it," he said.
That's if the Cubs win their first World Series title since 1908. They need 11 more wins to do that, but after winning the wild-card game against the Pirates on Wednesday, the hottest team in baseball has only gotten hotter; so hot, even some hardcore White Sox fans are pulling for them.
"I just hope they win," Billy Brooks said.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel was in West Town to tout the completion of 100 new miles of bike lanes in Chicago, but he couldn't stop himself from talking about the Cubs' century-long journey to get here.
"Now, they paced themselves over 100 years to get here, but I give them tremendous credit. You know, you don't want to go too fast," he said.
The longtime North Sider fan said this moment transcends any Cubs-Sox rivalry.
"Everybody in Chicago, and everybody in America is cheering for America's team, the Chicago Cubs," he said.