5 most infamous seventh-inning stretch performances in Cubs history

Chicago Cubs: In arguably the most infamous game in Cubs history, a comedic legend gave some fans a bad omen.

Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. We all know the story of how close the Cubs were in the eighth inning and what unfolded. Just a half-inning before the historic meltdown, the late comedian and Chicago native Bernie Mac took the mic to lead the seventh-inning stretch.

Mac, a noted diehard White Sox fan, sported a blue Cubs jacket and began to hype up the crowd at Wrigley Field. He started yelling the words, “Champs! Champs!” Then he changed the lyrics to the song a bit:

"“Let me root, root, root for the champs! CHAMPS! If they don’t win it’s a shame…” -Bernie Mac"

Superstitious fans got pits in their stomachs. Did Mac just declare the Cubs the champs even though the game was not over? Had the Cubs won that night, nobody would have thought twice about it. Considering what ended up happening, it became a part of the story. Even though it is all pretty silly, there was no shortage of paranoia surrounding the Cubs and jinxes/curses at the time.

In the end, it’s impossible to be mad at Mac. He was an entertainer and he was doing his thing. The Cubs did not surrender eight runs in the eighth inning because of the stretch. What is still baffling is why the Cubs brought in a celebrity who was a massive White Sox fan and was probably secretly rooting for the Marlins. Who knows.