The Chicago Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians Wednesday Night (technically Thursday morning), delivering a World Series championship to Chicago’s north side for the first time since 1908.
News of the Cubs improbable World Series title adds to what has already been quite the year. Cleveland won a championship in basketball, Leicester City won the Premier League, Britain left the European Union, and we lost music legends David Bowie and Prince. Republican nominee Donald Trump’s victory Tuesday would be the largest shock of them all to many who simply said it could not happen (Looking at you, FiveThirtyEight). (RELATED: Seven Time Nate Silver Was Hilariously Wrong About Donald Trump)
The well-regarded data analytics website FiveThirtyEight reported Oct. 30 the Cubs’ total chance of winning the Series at a measly 15 percent, which the website notes is, “a smaller chance than FiveThirtyEight’s election forecast model currently [Oct. 30] gives Donald Trump to win the White House.”
The 2016 World Series between the Cubs and Indians will go down as one of the most exhilarating series in recent memory, full of late-inning drama and unexpected heroics. The Indians charged to a 3-1 series lead, leading prognosticators to start writing off the Cubs. The Cubs won the game 5 and 6, setting up an explosive game number seven that likely tested the two desperate franchises.
Dusty in here… https://t.co/UKbkePLdEg
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) November 3, 2016
Classic. Fans waiting for Wrigley Field sign to announce winner was throwback to time before television. #CubsWin pic.twitter.com/VzEOPuVqNB
— Movie Bungalow (@moviebungalow) November 3, 2016
While the Cubs were not underdogs this season, 116 years of history told them that winning it all just wasn’t in the cards. While Trump is seldom referred to as a lovable loser, there are some readily observable similarities in the energies of his push to take the White House, and the Cubs’ late hour, reality-defying turnaround.
#News Donald Trump’s Acceptance Speech At The RNC Was One Of The Best Ever https://t.co/Y5hGAmx8Mn pic.twitter.com/fjZTxACqWa
— The Politic Manager (@TPoliticmanager) August 30, 2016
Many experts and pundits simply laughed at the notion that Donald Trump could even win the GOP nomination, let alone the White House. Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol guaranteed that Trump would not win the Republican Party nomination, shrugging off his candidacy as,”This Trump thing that is going on.”
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and Maggie Haberman at The New York Times laughing hysterically at Congressman Kieth Ellison warning fellow Democrats that Trump may be the Republican nominee is one more example of normal assumptions no longer representing reality.
Like Trump, the notion that the Cubs could win the World Series was laughed off by the Hollywood elites. The 1989 film, “Back to the Future II” even included a scene where in the future, the Cubs win the World Series — a scene meant to elicit laughter from audiences.
The space-time continuum was disrupted by the 1994 baseball strike, causing this alternate reality where the @Cubs win in 2016, not 2015. pic.twitter.com/cvlftTtWfT
— Back to the Future™ (@BacktotheFuture) November 3, 2016
FiveThirtyEight may have missed the mark on the 2016 Republican Primary race, but Trump and his supporters are hoping that its prediction regarding the Cubs, along with last night’s fresh victory, bode well for elections Tuesday.
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