The Chicago Cubs have advanced to the World Series. That sentence used to be the work of science fiction, but in 2016 it's absolute reality.

Yes, everyone's favorite lovable losers will play in the Fall Classic for the first time since 1945 and try to claim the franchise's first World Series title since 1908, going against a Cleveland Indians team that hasn't won the whole thing since 1948. What kind of a world is this when the team with the drought dating 68 years is not the sentimental favorite? What kind of a world is this when tickets to the World Series cost you the equivelant of a healthy mortgage?

This is the rare World Series where you'll probably feel good for the winners and even more devastated for the loser. Have no doubt about it, though -- the Cubs drought is the bigger story, not just because it's been 108 years, but because of all the heartache the fanbase has had to endure, including black cats and on-deck circles in 1969, Leon Durham's huge error in the 1984 NLCS and, most recently, Steve Bartman in 2003.

The Cubs making it this far has been met with a kind of incredulousness you usually only see when a batter tries to bunt on to break up a perfect in the ninth.