Postseason Fever spreads to South Bend
SOUTH BEND, Ind.— After a nail-biting finish in the Wild Card series Thursday, the Chicago Cubs punched their ticket to the NLDS.
Postseason fever is spreading, and it has made its way from Wrigleyville to South Bend at Four Winds Field, where the Cubs Den is preparing for a high demand that they have not seen since the Cubs last made the playoffs in 2017.
Just 90 minutes outside Chicago, the store is gearing up for a busy weekend as their parent team advances. Now in store are the official postseason caps that players like PCA, Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ and Matt Shaw, who all played in South Bend, will be wearing on the field as they take on the Brewers.
At Dick’s Sporting Goods, fans were also trying to get their hands on October baseball merch as a Notre Dame signing was going on Friday.
Lifelong Cubs fan Mary Lou Pallo, who wears the cap of Retail Operations Director in South Bend, says the deeper the Cubs go in the postseason, the more merch they will get in.
"Playoffs are always good because we’re open around here and the Cubs done anyway but as the Cubs go forward into the season, the busier we stay so I think fans were a little apprehensive. We all know the Cubs we had to get out of the wildcard first, but now that they’ve gotten past the wildcard, I expect a big crowd this weekend," said Pallo.
The Cubs Den is open from 10 to 5 Monday through Friday and 10 to 2 on Saturdays.