HAZLETON -- Quite the crowd cheered on hometown boy Joe Maddon in Hazleton Wednesday night. He's the manager leading the Chicago Cubs in this year's World Series game seven against the Cleveland Indians.
At Cusat’s Cafe in Hazleton, people have been piling in all night to see one of their own on one of biggest stages in the sports world.
You won’t find any Indians fans here. This is Cubs country. It’s all because Hazelton native Joe Maddon is the Cubs manager and looking to win the franchise its first World Series title in 108 years.
Hazleton is home for Maddon and much of his family, so these people are proud to support Joe and his team.
"Joe Maddon does a lot for the community and we really want to support him and see him win the World Series tonight. His family has been a diehard Hazleton family forever. I know his mom Beanie, his sister, his brother, (I) went to school with his brother, and we are all about joe," said Anne Marie Kaschak of Hazleton.
"I think that's what makes Hazleton so great. It's community oriented. Everybody wants to see that people from Hazleton can do better. It's just exciting to see one of your own do really well," said Hazleton Mayor Jeff Cusat.
"I just wish his dad was here to see it, you know? We're all proud of him. We couldn't be more happy, and if he wins it or if he loses it, we're still happy," said Jason Maddon, Joe's cousin.
Joe's mom, Beanie, and his sister Carmene were not at Cusat’s Cafe. His sister tells Newswatch 16 that she is at home watching this game alone because she simply gets too nervous. The same goes for her 83-year-old mom.
No matter the outcome, this game—and series—is one for the history books.