108 years ago, women were not allowed to vote. Today, woman are allowed to vote and some Americans will vote for the first female president. 108 years ago, Ford released the Model T, the country’s first affordable automobile. Today, the Interstate Highway system dominates ground travel in the United States thanks to the automobile.

In the last 108 years, the country has plunged into two World Wars and a Great Depression. It has combated, and witnessed the fall of, communism. Humankind has achieved flight and set foot on the moon. A lot of modern history occurred in that span. 108 years is how long it took for the Chicago Cubs to win a World Series title.

The Chicago Cubs, baseball’s lovable losers, were the heavy favorites to win the Fall Classic but their victory was not an easy path. The 162-game season was their first hurdle. The club finished the season with the best record in baseball, 103 wins against 58 losses.

Chicago then had to survive the gauntlet that is October baseball. First they had to fend off the San Francisco Giants and their Even Year magic in the NLDS, then the Los Angeles Dodgers and the perennially great Clayton Kershaw in the NLCS, and finally the Cleveland Indians — a team and a city that has been starving for a World Series title.

The Series opened in Cleveland. The Indians took the first game in dominating fashion, blanking the Cubs 6–0. Game 2 saw the Cubs equally as dominant. They tied the series with a 5–1 win.

But then the wheels fell off for the Cubbies. Cleveland took two more games. They were poised to win the Series and their first title since 1948. The last time a team lost a World Series after leading 3–1 was in 1985 when the Kansas City Royals roared back to snatch the championship from the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Indians only needed one more win. The Cubs needed a miracle — three straight wins. History and probability were not in the Cubs favor.

The Cubs held a tenuous lead, 3–2, in Game 5, extending their season and their postseason hopes. The Cubs renewed their fans’ faith in Game 6, defeating the Indians 9–3 and forcing Cleveland to a Game 7.

Game 7 was the most watched baseball game since final game of the 1991 World Series, according to Fox Sports. An average of 40.09 million viewers tuned in to watch history in the making. The first inning did not hesitate in delivering the drama. In the game’s first at bat, Dexter Fowler launched a homer to dead center off of Corey Kluber.

However, it appeared to be a quiet game, even after the Indians tied the match up in the third inning. Cubs ace Kyle Hendricks gave up a double to Coco Crisp. Crisp advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Roberto Perez. Carlos Santana singled to right, driving in Crisp for the tying run.

The Cubs opened their lead in the fourth and fifth innings. They cruised through three more innings with a 6–1 lead, destiny all but assured.

But Baseball is a fickle lover. She will send you on highs that ride waves, cresting to immense peaks only to land in a thunderous crash, leaving you disoriented and questioning why you watch the damn sport in the first place.

Such was the case for the Cubs and their fans. Chicago let their lead slip in the bottom of the eighth. Aroldis Chapman, the unhittable flamethrower whose fastball tops out at 105 miles per hour, gave up a two-run home run to Rajai Davis.

The game remained tied through the ninth inning. Before heading into extra innings, the teams retreated to their dugouts because of a rain delay — the universe telling Chicago, “Nothing is easy.”

Entering the top of the tenth inning, the Cubs scored two runs and took the lead on a double by Ben Zobrist and a single by Miguel Montero, two veteran ball players that have helped guide the young talent on Chicago’s roster.

As fate would have it, Carl Edwards Jr., a rookie relief pitcher that was picked in the 48th round of 2011 draft, came in to pitch the biggest inning of his life. He was able to get two outs before Cubs Manager, Joe Maddon, brought in Mike Montgomery for the save. Facing Michael Martinez for the last out, Montgomery gave up a ground ball that dribbled to third baseman Kris Bryant.

With a smile, Bryant fielded the ball and fired it to first baseman Anthony Rizzo for the final out, knowing the dreams of a city, and perhaps an entire sport, were finally realized 108 years later.

Fly the W, Chicago. You are finally champions.