Chicago Cubs: My favorite memory vs. every National League team

Chicago Cubs: Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers are responsible for one of my worst memories as a Cubs fan in 2008. They were the far inferior team against the Cubs in the NLDS, yet they made quick work of the Cubs in a three-game sweep.

But enough of that, you probably want to read about how the Cubs won the pennant against the Dodgers in 2016. Of course, there were several great moments in that series. Game 1 started with a bang, as the Cubs jumped out to a quick 3-0 before the Dodgers managed to tie the game in the top of the eighth. Miguel Montero then hit a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth to put the game away; some fans have said that’s the loudest they’ve ever heard Wrigley Field.

The Cubs were shut out in back-to-back Games 2 and 3, sending fans into a panic. However, a Ben Zobrist bunt in the top of the fourth sparked a rally, and the Cubs were on their way to relatively easy victories in Games 4 and 5.

I had tickets to a University of Michigan football game on the day of Game 6; for the first few innings, I had listened to Game 6 on the radio on the way home. I arrived at my parents’ house in time to catch most of the game on TV. As we know, the Cubs built a 5-0 lead and never wavered. Unlike Game 6 in 2003, there was little opportunity for drama, as Kyle Hendricks and Aroldis Chapman teamed up to shut out the Dodgers and clinch the pennant.

Though the World Series was still to follow, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of all our shoulders. For me, we finally got past the hurdle I’d been waiting 13 years for another opportunity to knockdown. There’s no question that this is my favorite National League moment in Cubs history.