In no edition of the Central Times ever have we had this headline: The Cubs have won the World Series. The editorial board is incredibly excited that this has changed.

Although a majority of us are not Cubs fans who live and die with every pitch, we are proud of our team. All of us call Chicago home, and thus, we are overwhelmed with a sense of community. Never before (to our knowledge at least) have over so many been called out of school to go to Chicago and be a part of the seventh-largest gathering of humans in history.

The Cubs are “America’s Team” because WGN, which is based in Chicago, was one of the first local channels to be broadcast around the country, which meant that suddenly everyone could watch every game. As people tuned in nationally to support the Chicago Cubs, the team quickly became a fan favorite. And this sentiment has only intensified.

The best part about the Chicago Cubs supersedes a national fanbase, though. It is the authenticity. From the historic ivy to Wrigley Field (come on, White Sox, Guaranteed Rate Field? Really?), the Cubs have remained the same for so many years. Each time one of us visits the stadium, we are welcomed by years of tradition, which is greatly appreciated.

We think this is a reason why the Cubs are so popular. Regardless of time and season outcomes, the Cubs have remained the same. And, once again, we really, really appreciate that.

One worry that some of us had is the Cubs’ tradition of being “lovable losers.” Everyone loved the Cubs because of their character and “underdog” quality.

However, now that we have won, does that change? Are we just like everyone else now? What makes us different? We aren’t completely sure what the answers to these questions are, but we will definitely be paying attention to these factors in the future.

Now, we must bring up a recent topic of contention: bandwagon fans.

We’ll be the first to admit it: many of us are bandwagon fans. While normally we may watch other sports or no sports at all, none of us were immune to the hype that the Chicago Cubs elicited in Chicago.

We feel that it does not matter how long you have been a fan or how intensely you have been a fan. Chicago has become united by the Cubs and no one should be exempt. There is no shame in being a new fan because this community is accepting. We will take all the Cubbie love we can get, and so we feel that all fans should be welcomed into the Cub fandom.

There is no sports city in the world like Chicago. With five million people coming out to celebrate the World Series victory, records were broken and unprecedented sports madness was uncovered.

We feel that this win is more than the sport. It’s about the city and community. Three of our staffers are not originally from Chicago, and many more were not into sports before this World Series. Each of them has expressed tremendous excitement and thrill, a feeling they never knew existed. Many said they didn’t understand sports until this World Series run, and we think that speaks volumes to the significance of the Chicago Cubs.

Of our staff, only three did not watch game seven of the World Series. The other 13 of us did. Of the three that did not watch it, two felt regret for missing history. Out of our entire staff, only one person felt indifferent towards the Cubs, and for a group of non-athletes, that is important.

We all sat anxiously in front of our TVs as we watched our city play, and all the seniors in the room said they are proud to be the graduating class from the year the Cubs won the World Series. We are all united now, thanks to the Chicago Cubs.