Sports fans can be a superstitious bunch. They believe in both good and bad luck and just about anything can set it off if you aren't extra careful. Well, it seems the
Chicago Cubs angered one of the baseball gods on Saturday. Things couldn't have been going much worse for them. The Atlanta Braves opened up a 9-1 lead and were cruising up 10-3 after the top of the 7th.
Most of the crowd had already vacated Wrigley Field by that point. It's hard to blame them. The weather was cloudy, windy, cold and wet. Seeing a Cubs blowout loss on top of it would've made it a truly miserable day. Except they forgot one thing. This Cubs team isn't like past Cubs teams. All they needed was a timely boost from somewhere, anywhere.
Enter Matt Nagy. The
Chicago Bears head coach was on hand for the festivities. He threw out the first pitch and was about to conduct the seventh inning stretch. Always a man known for his ability to motivate, Nagy brought extra enthusiasm to perk up peoples' spirits. This was Bear weather after all, right?
Apparently, the message got through.
Nagy mojo sparked 11-run explosion for Chicago Cubs comeback win
After Nagy finished, things started to get crazy. Ben Zobrist, because of course it was him, started things rolling with a triple that scored a run. He was then driven in on a sac grounder to cut the lead to 10-5 before the inning ended. After holding Atlanta scoreless in the top of the 8th, the floodgates opened.
Aided by a bevy of walks, a wild pitch and a gigantic three-run double from Javy Baez the Cubs scored nine runs to take an improbable 14-10 lead.
The Braves, completely deflated couldn't muster any sort of response in the 9th and the Cubs capped what could be the greatest regular season comeback in franchise history. The fact it all started with a helpful push from the new Bears head coach? That's icing on the cake.
Cubs fans can rejoice, but the people who might be most excited about this are Bears fans. They are praying that Nagy can succeed where John Fox failed in making their team a winner again. If the 39-year old could have this sort of effect with just a brief visit to the Cubs, just imagine what happens when he puts his full attention on Soldier Field. Fun times could be ahead.
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