CHICAGO — They are Lovable Losers no more. Forget those curses, too.

The Chicago Cubs ended decades of heartache and futility by beating the Cleveland Indians in 10 innings, 8-7, in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series for their first championship since 1908.

And that means for the first time in 108 years, the Cubs can — get this — turn their attention toward a championship repeat.

They finally wiped out baseball’s longest title drought early Thursday in Cleveland when third baseman Kris Bryant fielded Michael Martinez’s grounder off Mike Montgomery and threw to Anthony Rizzo at first, closing out an epic Game 7 against the Indians.

It set off a celebration more than a century in the making in Chicago. It was still going on Thursday afternoon. Fans jammed the sidewalks outside Wrigley Field, taking photographs under the famed marquee which read: ‘‘WORLD SERIES­ CHAMPIONS.’’

“That just dawned on me yesterday that Chicago’s not going to have that reputation anymore of lovable losers,’’ said Peggy Herrington, 49, of Chicago.

There will be a championship parade starting at Wrigley Field followed by a rally at Grant Park on Friday. President Barack Obama, a fan of the Chicago White Sox, tweeted out an invitation to the World Series champion Cubs to visit him at the White House. ‘‘It happened: @Cubs win World Series. That’s change even this South Sider can believe in. Want to come to the White House before I leave?’’ wrote the president.

World Series favorites from the start, the Cubs spent almost the entire season in first place on the way to a 103-58 record — their highest win total since the 1910 team with 104.

They beat the playoff-tested San Francisco Giants in the NLDS. They shook off back-to-back shutout losses and a 2-1 deficit against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS to capture their first pennant in 71 years.

They topped it all off when they became the first team since the 1985 Kansas City Royals to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win the title.

‘‘We’re in the books,’’ Rizzo said. ‘‘We’re in history forever. This team is brothers forever no matter what.’’

Now the Cubs — the Cubs, of all teams — turn their attention toward a championship repeat.

They will first have to pay up if they want to keep their closer, Aroldis Chapman, who figures to become baseball’s richest reliever.

The flame-throwing closer converted 16 of 18 save opportunities for Chicago during the regular season after being acquired from the New York Yankees and was a huge reason why they won the World Series.

The Cubs pulled off a surprise by re-signing Dexter Fowler to a $33 million, three-year deal during spring training when he appeared headed to Baltimore. He figures to exercise a $5 million buyout rather than a $9 million mutual option. The Cubs’ leadoff hitter and center fielder, Fowler helped his stock with a .276 average and .393 on-base percentage.

But don’t expect the Cubs to fade any time soon. Not with a young core.

MVP candidates Bryant and Rizzo are 24 and 27, respectively. Shortstop Addison Russell is 22. Second baseman Javy Baez and catcher Willson Contreras are 24. All had big moments in the postseason, and all are under team control through at least 2021.

For that matter, major league ERA champion Kyle Hendricks turns 27 in December.

Kyle Schwarber suffered what was thought to be a season-ending knee injury in his second game of the season. Even so, there was no denying the impact the 23-year-old slugger had in the World Series, going 7 for 17.

Schwarber, Jorge Soler and the versatile Ben Zobrist will all be looking for time in left field. Then again, manager Joe Maddon has shown he knows how to juggle the lineup and keep everyone involved.

‘‘If you look at our kids, I think if you put your scout’s cap on, it’s going to be easy to understand that the area we’re going to get better at is offense,’’ he said.

It excited the Cubs’ long-suffering fans, who patiently waited more than a century to bask in the afterglow of a World Series championship. They no longer have to wait till next year.

‘‘I think what this does for the identity of the Cubs fan is maybe they’ll deal with less of that tired old trope of the goat, the black cat,’’ said Lin Brehmer, a local radio host. ‘‘That’s all in the past now.’’