CHICAGO -- November blazed like dazzling springtime in Chicago during a massive parade and rally Friday to honor the Cubs first World Series title in 108 years and fulfill more than a century of pent-up dreams.A new generation of Cubs fans -- riding in strollers or on their parents shoulders -- joined their elders to cheer the baseball champions. For the youngest, the day would be their first bright memory of following a club once known as lovable losers.Their parents marveled at how their children will know the confident, young team as winners.Its a whole new Cubs world, said Dean Anderson, 51, of Chicago, who brought his 10-year-old son, Chase, to see the players motorcade as it rolled out from Wrigley Field at the start of the parade route. The lovable loser thing -- and all the accompanying lore embroidered by long-suffering fan loyalty -- may be lost to the newest fans, Anderson said, but weve had enough of that.A crowd, estimated by city officials at 5 million, lined Michigan Avenue and Lake Shore Drive to cheer the motorcade of open-roofed buses carrying the players along a 7-mile parade route from the north side ballpark to sprawling Grant Park. The citys tally included everyone who lined the route and the rally throngs. Friday was already a scheduled day off for Chicago Public Schools.Revelers crawled up trees and streetlight poles to get a better view along the route. Others sat atop shoulders to watch the team buses shimmering under a spray of red and blue confetti.Steve Angelo of Chicago carried his 4-year-old son, Nicholas, who held a World Champs sign.For him, the more and more they win now, at his earlier age, the more and more excitement there is, Angelo said. Theres parades, and people talk about it more on the radio and TV. Its going to be a lot more exciting now.During the jubilant festivities at the park, 39-year-old retiring Cubs catcher David Ross posed for a selfie in front of a multitude of roaring fans.Ross and the other players put their arms around each other and sang Go Cubs Go from the stage along with the blissed-out crowd.It happened, baby. It happened! proclaimed 27-year-old first baseman Anthony Rizzo to adoring cheers.Team manager Joe Maddon -- wearing a stocking cap, sunglasses and a jersey over a We did not suck T-shirt -- looked out over a sea of blue.Welcome to Cubstock 2016! Maddon said. This is an incredible moment for all of us. Never have I experienced anything like Wrigley Field on a nightly basis. ... I want to congratulate you fans also. Thank you for being so patient.A victory party is new territory for stoical fans of the Cubs, whose last World Series title -- before their Game 7, extra-inning thriller Wednesday night in Cleveland -- came in 1908. The last time the Cubs even reached the Fall Classic was in 1945.Superstitions die hard. Miriam Santiago, 51, said she carried holy water, her rosary and a bright green lucky baseball with her during the playoffs. On Friday, the Chicago woman brought a goat mask with dynamite in its mouth and let other fans pose for photos wearing it outside the ballpark. Her lucky charms helped reverse the Curse of the Billy Goat, she said, referring to the story of a Chicago tavern owner who supposedly put a hex on the team after his pet goat was turned away from Wrigley during the 1945 World Series.For days, Cubs mania has spread throughout the city and state. The cast of the Chicago production of Hamilton led a sold-out audience in singing Go Cubs Go during the Thursday night curtain call. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner declared Friday as World Champion Chicago Cubs Day statewide. The city dyed the Chicago River a bright shade of blue to match the Cubs colors, repurposing a decades-long tradition of dyeing the river green on St. Patricks Day.Far from being sad about bidding their team farewell for the year, fans looked forward to the future.Outfielder Kyle Schwarber, 23, took the microphone Friday and put it into words for the fans: I love you guys. Were world champs. Lets do it again next year.---Associated Press writer Sophia Tareen contributed to this report. Walter Payton Jersey . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. Tom Waddle Jersey . 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In fact even a somewhat less celebrated one-and-done performer like Jabari Parker?was both a statistical wonder and, like Okafor and Davis, a consensus first-team All-American.But those guys all played for Kentucky or Duke, and, as detailed below, one thing weve havent seen in the last five years is an Okafor- or Davis-level immaculate season from an elite freshman at a program other than one of the usual suspects. For example, LSUs?Ben Simmons?earned some All-American nods on his way to being the No. 1 overall pick, yet a seeason in?which the Tigers missed the NCAA tournament and where SEC player of the year honors went to Kentuckys?Tyler Ulis?was, often as not, termed disappointing.ddddddddddddLiving up to the hype as an elite freshman is very difficult. And, apparently, one thing thats even more difficult is living up to that hype for a team that stands just outside the very top echelon of college basketball.This is the tendency that an extraordinary talent like Washingtons?Markelle Fultz?will be going against this season at Washington. ' ' '
