VIDEO: Cub’s Fans Celebrate Near and Far

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- An estimated 5-million people attended Chicago’s Cub Celebration Parade today and TV’s all over Columbus were tuned in for the broadcast.

“I think it may be the most historical and significant event, in the history of sports. Every sport has had it’s share of memorable events but I think this is very special,” says beloved baseball fan Glenn  Lautizenhauser.

And Lautizenhauser is not alone.

“The loyalty and the heartache and just the passion, it’s just overwhelming I think and to see what happened Wednesday night is just amazing and most of the cub fans can’t believe that it’s actually happened and that it’s finally happened,” says WCBI’s Station Manager Derek Rogers.

So how did a Cubs fan-base form all the way down here in Columbus, Mississippi?

“When cable came to my town I turned on WGN and there was a Cubs game on and I watched it and they won and I said, ‘okay I think I like the cubs now and I was about 10 years old and that’s how it started,” says Rogers.

“I think the fact that WGN broadcasted their games, I think that has created a national fan base or at least help to enhance it,The Chicago cub fan base is not just a Chicago team, they’re not just a mid-western team they are a national team.”” says  Lautizenhauser.

Owner of Zachary’s Restaurant, Doug Pellum was born and raised in Columbus, but that has not stopped him from being a die hard fan.

“We have so many people who just come into our bar because they see the Chicago flags, they come in and want to know about it. They come in, sit down, and then the stories that they tell us and the stories that we tell them are probably the best thing about it,” says Pellum.

This win has brought more than a reason to celebrate, many are taking this time to remember their loved ones who shared in the their love for the game.

“The only regret that I have is that I have about all this is that Bunky Williams was not here to see it,” says Lautizenhauser.

“Uncle Bunky was probably the biggest cubs fan, well not probably, he was the biggest Cubs fan in Columbus. It’s sad that he wasn’t here to see the Cubs win but we know he’s looking down on them now,” says Pellum.

Bunky Williams died on August 25, 2015 from a battle with cancer.

In true “Bunky fashion” he was buried in his beloved Cubs jersey.