Geneva Dick’s Sporting Goods Hopping as Fans Line Up to Grab Cubs Gear Late Wednesday, Early Thursday

Cynthia Steimle runs a doctor's office in Elgin and was up early shopping at the Dick's Sporting Goods in Geneva, picking up Cubs t-shirts for her entire office.

"Everyone in my office is huge Cubs fans," said Steimle at about 6:45 a.m. Thursday as she joined a steady crowd of fans stopping in to the store before work and school to pick up championship gear following Wednesday's historic World Series win. Dick's in Geneva was supposed to open at 6 a.m., as were Dick's stores throughout the Chicago area, but managers opened the doors at 5:30 a.m. as a line started to form outside the store.

As for Steimle, who grew up a Cubs fan and with a mom and grandma who are huge fans, Wednesday night was an emotional and joyous occasion. Her 102-year-old grandma was thrilled to see the win.

“I’ve probably been a Cubs fan before I was even born. I was a Cubs fan in the womb” said Steimle of St. Charles. She bought the t-shirts for all of her staffers at Vein and Laser Center of Elgin Cardiac Surgery and planned to surprise them all with the gift when she got to work on Thursday.

"They are going to be thrilled," said Steimle.

The Geneva Dick’s Sport Goods, like Dick's stores across the area, opened following the Cubs win Wednesday. At the height of the chaos, a line stretched about 550 yards, down to the far southern portion of Geneva Commons past Victoria’s Secret. People reportedly waited hours in line to be the first to nab the Cubs championship gear. The store remained open until 2:30 a.m. Thursday.

Geneva Police had officers on duty at the store both Wednesday night and early Thursday. Buyers were not acting up in Geneva and there was no mayhem or mishaps to report as of 8 a.m.

A lot of those shopping early Thursday included school-age kids, from elementary to high school students, picking up t-shirts to wear to school that day.

Among them was Anna Juskowski of North Aurora who was out with her dad to pick up a t-shirt.

"We are getting one for my wife as well," said John Juskowski.

The hot-ticket item Wednesday night were the 2016 World Series Locker Room hats. In Geneva, the Dick’s reportedly sold out of 900 of the hats in 10 minutes. The Dick’s in Geneva had not been stocked with more early Thursday but employees said more shipments of Cubs gear is expected to continue to come in, and fly off the shelves, throughout the day.

The Dick's Sporting Goods store was among 26 Dick's stores in the Chicago-area that opened following the Cubs win.

Aurora resident Brian Moreno captured the below video of the chaos at an area Dick's Sporting Goods at about 1 a.m. Thursday, which the city of Aurora shared on its Facebook page.