Couple married for over 70 years love Cubs as much as each other

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (WLS) -- Ever since their first date in the bleachers at Wrigley Field back in the 1940's, Bob and Annie Kneesel have been in love with each other and their Cubs.

"When we went to the bleachers we only paid 60 cents for a double header. It was an afternoon's entertainment, $1.20 for us," Annie said.

The Cubs remained their entertainment for over 70 years of marriage.

"He yells and I'm very quiet. And he'll say, 'Don't swing at the first pitch,'" Annie said.

But it was Bob who struck out on a date to Game 4 of the 1945 World Series.

"We had said we would get together at 5:30. He called and said I can't go I have a toothache. So I woke my sister up and said, 'Would you go to a ball game with me?' She said sure. We ended up with standing room only and then we stood for the whole game. I couldn't see very well, so I kept moving my head but they lost, so," Annie said.

"I heard about the goat, but we didn't see or smell the goat at all," Annie said.

Annie kept her ticket stub from the game.

"I must have had it in pocket, put it in a drawer, and when we moved, I just took it with and put it in a drawer," she said.

The Kneesels never thought it would take 71 years for the Cubs to host another World Series game but they never believed in a curse.

Instead their four generations of fans are banking on Grandma Annie's faith in her first love.

"I said I have a good feeling about the Cubs. Everybody laughs at me, every year it's the same thing but this year, when I put $10 on the team they're going to win," she said.

The family wanted to rent the couple a limo and bring them back to a World Series game together, but Bob and Annie said they would rather watch their Cubs surrounded by family at home.