CHICAGO – Cubs fans have waited, and waited, and waited. And after Tuesday night’s 8-3 loss to the Florida Marlins, they’ll have to wait until tonight to see if their team will make it to the World Series.

While many Cubs fans were moaning during the last couple of innings of Tuesday night’s game about the impending loss, most fans kept their chins up.

“It was such a good start, but it’s very depressing,” Chicago resident Liza Koves said. “But anything is possible … You have to believe.”

This was the mantra Cubs fans outside the Friendly Confines kept chanting, even after the end of the game. While the fans were disappointed in the Cubs’ loss, they have faith that in tonight’s game, the Cubs will be victorious.

“I think they’ll be able to rally,” Antioch resident David Johnson said.

However, some Cubs fans are skeptical about their team’s ability to pull off a Game 7 win in the National League Championship Series.

Chicago resident Clint Wilcox said he thinks the pressure is going to come down on the pitcher in tonight’s game.

“The weight of the world is on Kerry Wood’s shoulders,” Wilcox said. He said he came out of his apartment to Waveland Avenue during the eighth inning, and when he left, they Cubs were still leading. So, for tonight, he said, he doesn’t plan on leaving his apartment until they win.

“I don’t want to jinx it again,” he said.

Tuesday’s loss looms large for many Cubs fans, and they know that tonight’s game is going to make or break the morale of the fans.

Worth resident Debbi Heckler said she was confused about how the Cubs could let eight runs score in the eighth inning, but she blamed it on the pitching.

“Prior got too confident,” she said.

However, Wilcox blamed the loss on the fan who interfered with the ball.

“Fan interference is a huge problem in postseason games,” he said.

Cliff Panczyk, a 1987 NIU alumnus who lives in Naperville, was sitting in the left-field bleachers during Tuesday night’s game. He said he was very disappointed with Tuesday night’s loss.

“I’m a lifelong Cubs fan; this ripped my heart out,” he said.

But Panczyk said he’s confident that Kerry Wood will be able to pull off the win tonight; however, he said, winning isn’t everything to a Cubs fan.

“It’s more than about winning or losing,” he said. “It’s like being a Republican or a Democrat. It’s deep for the Cubs fans.”