Headsup: 2016 World Series Doubleheader

Unless you were living under a rock the first week in November, you probably heard about the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series for the first time in a while–108 years, to be precise (which many ascribe to the curse placed on the team by a fan angered when his billy goat was denied entry into Game 4 at Wrigley Field in 1945…).

In a year that’s been shaded heavily with loss of life, natural disasters, social tensions, and political strife, the Cubs’ win after the longest dry spell in MLB history was at the least very refreshing. It was also life-changing, not only for the players but also for fans, many of whom have kept the faith in their team for generations without any return until now.  Over the years a popular catchphrase among them became “just one before I die”… ESPN published a touching story about a man who drove from North Carolina to his father’s gravesite in Indiana to keep a pact that they would listen to the Cubs play the World Series together (and was there for the win), and there have been many reports of the iconic blue-and-white W “win pennants” decorating cemeteries nationwide.  There have also been multiple projections about a rise in births nine months after the win as a result of other celebrations.

For the Cubs, it was like something out of the movies–the Indians had opened the best-of-seven series with a 3-1 lead (and had the home field advantage) and the Cubs were fighting not only the decades-long drought, but also had the crushingly close calls of the team almost winning in 1984 and 2003 haunting them.  They also screwed up a much-needed 8th inning lead, and then, at the end of the 9th, a weather delay hit.  Many have pointed to that 17-minute delay and the now-famous talk that Jason Heyward gave in the weight room as the saving grace for the team, who came back and lifted the curse with a win, the century-long dry spell literally ending with rain.

Out now from Shout Factory are two titles to help fans remember all the highlights of the team’s history-making year: The 2016 World Series and 2016 World Series Collector’s Edition: Chicago Cubs.  The 2016 World Series film is an official MLB-produced documentary narrated by Vince Vaughn (who is apparently a big Cubs fan himself) and includes interviews, highlights of all of the post-season games, and selections from the World Series Parade in Chicago on November 4th which drew an estimated 5 million people (making it the seventh largest gathering in recorded history).  2016 World Series Collector’s Edition: Chicago Cubs is an eight-disc set which includes all seven games from the 2016 World Series and a bonus disc with the complete NLCS Game 6 (the pennant-winning game for the Cubs).  It also includes four different audio options (TV, home radio (Indians Radio Network), away radio (Cubs Radio Network), and Spanish-language broadcast) for those who want to relive the games as they first experienced them.

If you just want to watch The 2016 World Series, you can rent or buy it digitally on Amazon starting at $5.99 and $19.99 respectively.  However, you can buy the DVD outright for $2 less (currently $17.66).  It is also available on Blu-ray for $24.79.  2016 World Series Collector’s Edition: Chicago is not available for streaming purchase or rental, but it does come with both hard copy format options—- on Amazon you can currently get the DVD set for $45.79 and the Blu-ray set for $67.31.

If you or someone you care for are one of the many fans that were waiting for the victory that was 108 years in the making, one (or both) of these sets is likely a good thing to consider.