Levine: Cubs Are America's Team Again

By Bruce Levine--

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago Cubs are back to being the No. 1 draw and most popular team in baseball.

After an eight-year hiatus from the playoff scene, the Cubs have reawakened the dormant fan base. Their fans have filled ballparks all over the country in 2015 with renewed vigor. The Cubs are playing in front of an average of 35,000 fans per road game, making them the top road draw in the majors.

Manager Joe Maddon is enjoying the ride after languishing as manager in Tampa Bay for eight seasons. The Florida market has been a burden to major league baseball with two of three worst home attendances usually in Miami and St. Petersburg.

With a group of star-quality players in the organization, Maddon's enjoying the attention that Cubs fans have bestowed on his team. When his Tampa team played a three-game series at Wrigley Field last summer, Maddon sensed the magic of the 100-year-old baseball park and its fan base.

"When you have a makeup game on an off day -- Monday at 1 p.m. -- and 40,000 people show up, I believe that says it all," Maddon said.

Maddon loved his time in Tampa Bay, where he became a local icon in the small-market town. Yet the magnitude of the step-up in popularity for both the manager and the team has been enjoyable for the 60-year-old baseball veteran in Chicago.

"The Tampa Bay fans were great to me for years," Maddon said. "This ballpark was built 100 years ago, and the fan base has had a chance to grow exponentially since then. So, it is much different. You see Cubs gear everywhere you go. People are there in our hotels, waiting for buses, just people everywhere.

"I am new to the party and loving it. I feel very fortunate to be included."

The direct impact on wins and losses can't be discerned from fans showing up. That said, Maddon feels a kinetic difference in the club when the fan base erupts.

"The best way to describe it is energy," he said. "If you feel that little boost, it can help you get through the day … (Fans) definitely make us feel better about ourselves."

The Cubs are drawing an average of 36,272 through 73 home games. That puts them on pace to draw 2.9 million fans. That's an increase of 300,000 fans from 2014 and more than 500,000 from 2013.

With the bleachers closed for almost three months due to late construction work, the team estimates they lost another 100,000 ticket sales that would have been purchased.

Chicago is playing to 88 percent capacity at home and 81 percent on the road.

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.