This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Cleveland • Life changed in the early part of Thursday morning for a large percentage of people in Chicago, for the North Side and all the way downstate, across the Midwest and, judging by the din, from more than a few transplants and travelers right here. It took 10 innings, a rain delay, a reminder of how disastrous baseball life has been there for so long. But it's changed.

Now, in the lives even of Chicago Cubs fans who are more than a century old, there is a clear and distinct dividing line. There are the days and years and decades before 12:47 a.m. Thursday Central time. And there is the unfamiliar feeling — the absolutely delirious feeling — of whatever life is like now.

Take this in, Chicago. Read it twice if need be. Hold it, cradle it, caress it, cherish it. The Cubs won the World Series.

They did it with a riveting, 8-7, 10-inning victory over the Cleveland Indians in the seventh and final game at Progressive Field, one that tore out the lining of Chicago's roiling stomach before stitching it back together again. The simple part: Ben Zobrist's double off Cleveland reliever Bryan Shaw pushed across the lead run, Miguel Montero followed with a run-scoring single, and Chicago . . . Chicago . . . What to make of Chicago now?

The Cubs took what appeared to be control by going up 5-1 in the fifth, with all the runs coming off Cleveland ace Corey Kluber and previously impenetrable reliever Andrew Miller. And yet, when Cubs manager Joe Maddon went to get starter Kyle Hendricks in the fifth, there were potential issues.

Asked prior to the game whether he would insert veteran left-handed starter Jon Lester into a situation with men on base, Maddon was clear. "I don't think it would be appropriate," he said. Yet he entered — along with David Ross, his personal catcher — with two outs and a man on first in the fifth.

For the first time, things went a bit haywire. Not in the Cubs' history, of course. But for the first time Wednesday.

Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis hit a spinner in front of the plate, and though Ross hustled to get it, his hard throw was wide of first base, putting runners on second and third. Lester then uncorked a pitch that bounced in front of the plate, hit Ross's facemask and skipped so far away that not only did Carlos Santana score from third, but Kipnis jetted all the way around from second.

Still, the advantage was with the Cubs. Ross made up for being unable to block Lester's errant pitch with a solo homer against Miller, who had given up two runs the entire postseason but allowed two in Game 7.

When Lester departed with two outs in the eighth, he received congratulations. The last of his 55 pitches became an infield single to Jose Ramirez. But when Maddon turned to flame-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman, the situation was manageable: 6-3 lead, one on, one out to get in the eighth, then three more to get in the ninth.

The first hitter he faced was Brandon Guyer, and it was clear immediately that Chapman's velocity was down. Guyer cranked a double to right-center. Ramirez, running on the pitch, scored easily. At 6-4, the Indians were alive. The city all but shook.

Still, it was nothing compared to Rajai Davis's at-bat. Chapman fed Davis nothing but four-seam fastballs. With the count 2-2, Chapman came with his seventh straight fastball, this one at 97 mph. Davis jumped on it. It wasn't majestic. Just historic. It went into the corner in left field, near the foul pole. Tie game.

In the top of the 10th, Kyle Schwarber led off with a single, was replaced by pinch-runner Albert Almora Jr. , who moved up to second on a fly ball. Cleveland elected to walk Anthony Rizzo to get to Zobrist.

It was a logical choice. It didn't work. Zobrist singled into left field, scoring Almora with the run that put them up 7-6. Turns out, after an intentional walk to Addison Russell, they needed Montero's RBI single to left, too.

That's because, with two out and one on in the bottom of the 10th, Carl Edwards Jr. allowed Davis, of all people, an RBI single to pull the Indians within a run. Maddon had to turn to veteran lefty Mike Montgomery, who induced Michael Martinez into a grounder to third to end it.

That is — finally, finally, finally — when the Cubs fans, here and back in Wrigleyville and worldwide, let loose. That's when life changed. What it will be like, with the Chicago Cubs as World Series champions, we can't be sure.