Chicago Cubs are all about the intangibles — character, resiliency, and the Wrigley rabid

Game Four starter Matthew Boyd, who turned in 4.2 scoreless innings to avenge the drubbing he took in Game One, talked up the Wrigley loyal showing up in full support. Forty minutes before game time, as he was jogging and warming up, the stands were already packed and “going crazy.”

“There’s nothing like that,” Boyd said of the Cubs fan base. “It’s really special. They create such an environment here. It makes it a great place to play when you’re a Cubbie and it’s a hard place to play when you’re not.”

Left fielder Ian Happ gave the fans reason to cheer in the first inning when he hit a three-run home run off Brewers starter Freddy Peralta to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead. Up until that moment, the veteran Cub– and the last remnant of past Cubs winning playoff teams– had been batting .095 in the postseason.

“To do it in that atmosphere, in front of these fans,” Happ told media after the game, “they’ve been here every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Tuesday in the middle of June, they’re here. To give them that experience and to hear that roar was really special.”

“The crowd was incredible tonight,” manager Craig Counsell told reporters afterwards. “I’ve never seen a baseball game like that. That was just amazing what they did tonight.”

A team deserving of rabid support

And if there’s one team deserving of such a rabid and game-swaying fandom, it’s this 2025 Cubs team.

One can take shots at the ownership’s frugality and the front office’s frustratingly conservative mindset. One could point at the many roster holes facilitated by the failures and/or flaws of the suits in charge. But the team, itself, is special.

From spring training to the present, the 2025 Cubs have worked as a unit, putting the team ahead of personal glory, and proudly, without ego, admitting that when they falter as individuals, they know their teammates will have their backs.

This aspect of the Cubs’ character led directly to what everyone saw on the field Thursday.

From ultra-veteran Justin Turner overseeing pre-game batting practice for the struggling Pete Crow-Armstrong and Matt Shaw to Matthew Boyd’s motivational role in reviving and reinvigorating reliever Daniel Palencia after a disastrous Game One, the Cubs are showcasing the kind of constitution that leads to great things.

Building on this foundation

They, most assuredly, have their deficiencies and roster holes. It’ll be a tall task to ask very much more of them this postseason.

But this team won’t roll over for anybody and, even as things look darkest, it’ll be hard to keep them down for long. Whether they win or lose on Saturday, they’ve proven their point.

Hopefully, the higher-ups build upon the foundation established this season with this crew of Cubs. Greatness is within reach.