This season, the Cubs are entering the postseason with a  vengeance after being eliminated last year. The Cubs have high expectations, and students are getting ready for October baseball.

The Cubs went into Sep. 27 with a record of 100-56. The Cubs were the first team to clinch their division to advance into the postseason. They have 5-2 odds to win the coveted World Series, according to the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

The Cubs are a special team in that they are housed in Wrigley Field, the second oldest stadium, and that they have the longest streak without a championship in all of professional sports.

The Cubs now have their most wins since 1935 and their promising start is all thanks to the new start constructed by President of Baseball Operations, Theo Epstein. He came on board during 2011 after breaking the Red Sox championship drought and utilized the Cubs farm league to create arguably their best team in over 100 years.

Students are sharing the enthusiasm that the north side of Chicago is. Every day it’s almost guaranteed to see more than ten Cubs shirts or jerseys throughout the hallways, this reflecting the support of the Cubs in their monumental year. However, some students are wary of their chances this year, but feel they will definitely win it in the next few years.

Senior, Maggie Desmond said, “I really do hope they make it far, but I’m not getting my hopes up that high because I think they will make the World Series in less than five years, but I think they need a little more practice.”

Avid Cubs fan and senior, Daniel Fay shared her sentiment, but had high hopes for this year: “Within the next three years we will definitely win it, this year, I predict, we win the world series in 5 games.”

The postseason starts October 4th, with high expectations, but feelings  are still raw after last years trip to the National League Championship Series (NLCS) was cut short by the Mets, after the Mets swept the Cubs in four games.

Reflecting on that loss is senior, Niko Gjaja: “Its gonna depend on the pitching, the reason we lost last year to the Mets, is because they had the best pitching during the championship series.”

This looks to change with two of the Cubs pitchers, Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester are in the running for the NL Cy Young Award, with the two lowest Earned Run Average (ERA) in the league. This is only the beginning of the Cubs depth, their bench players are just as good as their starters and are ready to fill in when called upon.

Some players the Cubs can expect to do well are some of the less known role players. New Trier junior Marty Tatosian said, “Kyle Hendricks is gonna do great, and so are Javier Baez and Addison Russell.”

However, those role players aren’t even the best the Cubs have to offer. The first and thirds baseman, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant are two fan favorites that are competing against each other for the National Leagues MVP award.

Kris Bryant is a favorite at New Trier for many reasons said senior Caitlin Chapman, one of them being, “not only is he an amazing player, but he plays almost as good as he looks.”

The Cubs are a team that knows how to have fun, too, with manager Joe Maddon having pajama parties for road trips and inviting the local zoo for bonding and levity.

Combined with the fun playing style and the focused intensity to break the streak and end the curses, the Cubs are a must watch these next couple weeks.