Baseball has about as much currency in South Africa as jukskei does in America, but the fable of the Chicago Cubs should warm hearts everywhere.

The story goes that in 1945 tavern owner William Sianis bought two tickets to the fourth game of the Chicago Cubs’ World Series encounter against the Detroit Tigers. One was for himself; the other was for Murphy, his billy goat and the mascot of his tavern.

So smelly was Murphy that fans complained until Sianis and his goat were chucked out. “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more,” vowed Sianis, whose curse took hold in baseball lore.

Aghast at how the incident cast a pall over the Cubs, Sianis eventually took back the curse just before his death in 1970. His nephew later visited Wrigley Park several times with his own goat, to no avail.

Happily, the curse was finally slayed when the Cubs won the World Series against the Cleveland Indians recently, their first championship in 108 years.

To get a sense of just how much the win meant to the city, consider that five million people are said to have attended the Cubs’ victory parade in downtown Chicago.

Local hero Barack Obama never had that many at his inauguration.

In a strange twist, the same city played host to one of the most staggering rugby results of the recent age as Ireland beat the All Blacks 40-29 last weekend.

Chicago isn’t known as a rugby city by any stretch, but famous Soldier Field provided a throbbing backdrop as the large Irish expatriate community came out to support their own. To watch Ireland tear into the All Blacks was to be reminded of their mortality, mere weeks after they had claimed the world record for consecutive wins by a first-tier nation. The team is arguably the greatest of all time, but Ireland didn’t care.

Proving yet again sport’s capacity for outrageous theatre, they got a hand to New Zealand throats early and somehow maintained their grip through a frenzied, famous 80 minutes that must surely rank as the best in their history. In 111 years of trying, Ireland had never beaten the men in black.

This was some victory, some moment for a team that played with incredible self-belief.

We might live in jaded times, and rugby has looked especially vulnerable in a fast-changing world, but this result proved that miracles still can happen. Had you scripted this, you’d have been run out of town, but the potential for upsets is what keeps us coming back for more.

Just ask the Chicago Cubs.

It was a magnificent week for underdogs, as the Proteas also proved. The omens were dark as Australia took the action to them, Hashim Amla falling cheaply and Dale Steyn getting crocked.

But the one thing you can never discount from SA teams is the fight within. Australia are ruthless performers at home, seldom losing the opening Test of a series, but they wilted under the Proteas’ relentless assault.

There was something of the miracle about it too. For my money, Temba Bavuma’s wondrous runout of David Warner would have been THE sports moment of 2016 but for Wayde van Niekerk’s Olympic heroics. At the very least, it is the best single cricket moment of the year and underscores the validity of his selection.

There were many competing narratives in this extraordinary game. That it all took place in Australia’s back yard made it all the more rewarding. So too how they pulled together when lesser teams would have wilted under the pressure.

No-one is making claims that the Proteas are the new dreadnoughts of the international game, but there are strong signs that they are a formidable work in progress. They have the makings of something special. The building blocks are in place.

Too often we shake our heads at the state of sport – look at the bewildering situation at Western Province – but little else can turn around so swiftly, and with such a galvanising effect.

Whether the miracle of the Cubs, the fight of the Proteas or the pluck of the Irish, these are fresh and compelling reminders of why we cheer. – © Sunday Tribune