Longtime Eastern Iowa Cubs fans relish World Series triumph

Nate Sanderson directed the Springville girls' basketball team to a state title in March, a journey he ranks at the top of his sports experiences.

But a trip he and friends Brian Fick of Durant and Adam Wiley of Muscatine took this week ranks a close second.

Lifelong Chicago Cubs fans, the three left Iowa Wednesday morning for a trip to Cleveland and Game 7 of the World Series. They sat through a tense, back-and-forth game and a short rain delay before celebrating the Cubs' 8-7 win over the Cleveland Indians, Chicago's first World Series title since 1908.

Then they jumped in the car and returned to Iowa.

'It's probably the second greatest sports moment I've ever experienced,” Sanderson said during his return to Iowa, mentioning that state championship as his No. 1 moment.

He wasn't alone in that assessment.

High school coaching legend Larry Niemeyer of Cedar Rapids has been waiting his entire life for this moment. The 79-year-old said his grandfather was a Cubs fan, as was his father. He was at the 1945 World Series, but 'I don't remember it.

'I had some tears this past week watching the Cubs. I really did.”

Dave Gosch of Cedar Rapids said he's had confidence in his beloved Cubs since Theo Epstein took over as the team president, but 'I couldn't believe.

'I didn't know they would win it all, but I knew they would be very good.”

Many others took to social media to express their feelings.

'Never cried more in my life. Never hugged more strangers in my life. Just sports? 'Just” sports,” one local fan wrote on Twitter.

'Dare I say, the Cubs' World Series championship is bigger than all of Chicago's sports titles combined? Yep,” another wrote on Facebook.

'With a legit tear in my eye, this *is* the greatest night of my life. The Cubs are #WorldSeries champs. Amazing,” was another tweet.

Another noted on Twitter 'at least if I die tonight, I got to see the Cubs win the World Series.”

Sanderson, who lives outside Springville, said he and his friends noticed ticket prices dropping after the Indians took a 3-1 lead in the World Series. They took a chance and purchased Game 7 tickets. Then he had to convince his wife it was a good idea to drive to Cleveland.

'I couldn't think of another sports moment that would be worth, not only the price of the ticket, but the drive,” he said. 'It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

How much did he, Fick and Wiley pay for those tickets?

'I'm not allowed to say,” he said with a laugh.

Gosch, still in a bit of a shock Thursday morning, is home, suffering from kidney failure and awaiting a transplant. His dialysis machine broke down Wednesday which, he said, was a good thing so he could 'stay up and watch the game.”

'It's really still sinking in,” said Gosch, 54, a former Gazette news reporter. 'It's just hard. It's going to take a while, it's going to take a parade.

'It's hard to get a grip on it.”

He said the Cubs' season has helped him cope with his illness.

'This has been a nice tonic,” he said. 'It gave me something to look forward to each day.”

The game - and the series - were just what Sanderson and Gosch expected. After 108 years of near-misses, flops and frustrating seasons, the Cubs couldn't win easily.

'For a month, I was on the edge of my seat,” Gosch said. 'It had to be hard. It had to be storybook.

'Nothing can top it.”

This was a special season for Niemeyer, who threw out the first pitch in Wrigley Field in September.

'I never thought I'd live that long,” he said.