Will Bill Murray be the Cubs' Good Luck Charm This Postseason?

CHICAGO, IL — As the count reached 3-2 on the Chicago Cubs' Javier Baez during his eighth inning at bat in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Friday night, broadcasters cut away from the tense drama at the plate to check out the nervous excitement in the Wrigley Field stands.

That's when the camera landed on die-hard Cubs fan and national treasure Bill Murray. Decked out in a Cubs jacket, he was on his feet, cheering on Baez and the rest of the team to break the scoreless tie and give Chicago its first win of the 2016 postseason.

Cut back to Baez, who did the thing you're supposed to do when you're part of a dominant team in the midst of a magical season. He ripped a solo, game-winning home run into the left-field bleachers off San Francisco Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto. With its late-inning 1-0 victory, Chicago leads the best-of-five series. Game 2 is Saturday night at Wrigley.

Considering Chicago is a team rooted in superstition — most of it, the bad kind — last night's win provided more proof of something Cubs players have assumed since at least last season: Bill Murray is the team's good luck charm. (You know, if you believe in that sorta thing.)

The Chicago-area native unofficially adopted that role during last year's postseason run, rubbing the team's lineup card for Game 2 of the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. Unfortunately, Murray's mojo wasn't enough. The Cubs not only lost the game, but the best-of-seven series, too.

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Friday night's events, however, could mean his powers of good fortune are returning. As if to reinforce that idea, Murray was reportedly seen¹ wearing a curse-breaking T-shirt for good measure at the ballpark. A photo of him in the top — it riffs off the Curse of the Billy Goat, as well as the theme-song lyrics from the classic Murray film Ghostbusters² — was posted on Reddit:

"Obviously, he's a good luck charm," manger Joe Maddon said after the actor hung out with players before a game in June. "[Murray] is so into what we're doing. I think the players grabbed some energy from that."

Hopefully, the team saved some of that energy for October.

FOOTNOTES

¹Some people have been skeptical that the photo of Murray wearing the "Goatbusters" shirt is from Friday night, pointing to the fact that he was seen on TV wearing a gray shirt (he's wearing a shirt that color underneath the tee) and (inexplicably) a black Jimmy Johns cap.

²Fun fact: The Cubs have made it to the postseason every year a "Ghostbusters" movie has been released, 1984, 1989 and 2016. Find out how San Diego Padres fans parodied the movie when the team played Chicago in the '84 NL playoffs.

Bill Murray in 1989's "Ghostbusters II" (photo via Columbia Pictures)

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