Fantastic!

The Chicago Cubs have a long history as loveable losers of professional baseball.\nA team that goes nearly a century, 95 years to be exact, without winning a World Series can't argue with the label, "loser." But the loveable part is now as evident as ever.\nAll around the country and all over campus, Chicago Cub fever has struck baseball fans, as the Cubs earned a playoff berth by capturing the National League Central Division crown Saturday. \nThough 213 miles south of Chicago, Bloomington is not immune to catching Cub fever. With many IU students calling Chicago home and others claiming regional loyalties, Cubs fans at IU can argue that the Cubs are the team with the most appeal for the IU student body. \n"I'm from Chicago," said junior Brian Nicolopoulos. "I've been a Cubs fan for my entire life. Them making the playoffs means the world to me."\nMany of IU's Cubs contingent decided to catch Tuesday's action at one of Bloomington's many sports bars and celebrated the Cubs playoff run with other fans.\n"To come out and celebrate this Cubs playoff game with other Cubs fans, in this great atmosphere, is ideal," said junior Jimmy Antalis, watching one of four projection TVs at Kilroy's Sports Bar. "I feel like I'm at a bar in Wrigleyville; there are so many Cubs fans here. This is the greatest." \nThe rarity of the Cubs playoff berth has forced some die-hard Cubs fans to put the Cubs as their top priority this week.\n"I'm putting away all school work, all sorority work. The Cubs are my number-one priority right now," said junior Natalie Rubino. "I'm going home on Friday for the weekend. This means the world to me."\nFrom the first inning with a Kenny Lofton single up the middle, to the final out recorded by closer Joe Borowski, the Cubs fans were on their feet and cheering at Kilroy's Sports Bar as well as at Yogi's Bar and Grill.\nOver the last few days, Cubs gear has been on display all over campus. Following a team that is synonymous with losing has made this latest playoff run even sweeter for many fans. \n"I'm not even from Chicago, but walking around campus and seeing all the Cubs hats and shirts, and listening to everyone on the bus and in class, I mean you can't help but get excited," said junior Paul Markowitz, at Yogi's.\nBloomington sports bars have not seen excitement like this since IU's 2002 Final Four run. But to a Cubs fan, this weekend offers a chance to erase nearly a century of futility.\n"There's no doubt in my mind that the Cubs making the playoffs is more important to me than IU basketball," said senior Wojtek Krupka, decked out in a full Moises Alou uniform including a Cubs fanny-pack. "I've been a Cubs fan for 21 years, and they're never good. I've only been an IU fan for four years. The Cubbies take precedence here."\n-- Contact staff writer Matt Glenesk at mglenesk@indiana.edu.