‘There’s a camaraderie we have.’ For Chicago Cubs fans who made the trek to London, the trip is unique — and bittersweet.

For longtime Chicago Cubs fan Marci Watts, the London Series represented the perfect 55th wedding anniversary gift for her parents, who are diehard St. Louis Cardinals fans.

The teams’ rivalry and a trip to London created the perfect union for the family’s split allegiance. Watts grew up in the Peoria area, which is well known for its divided fan support between the Cubs and Cardinals. Her best friend was a Cubs fan and despite her parents, Wayne and Sharen Cinotto, supporting the Cardinals, Watts gravitated toward the lovable losers and fell in love with Wrigley Field when making trips to the city with her friend’s family during the 1970s.

“It’s become a family tradition to argue about them,” Watts told the Tribune on Thursday from the team’s fan rally at Horse and Guardsman pub. “I didn’t even realize until I was older, in my teens, that I was doing something that was interesting, shall we say.”

However, those travel plans in 2020 fell through when the pandemic caused the cancelation of the series. Watts, 56 of Mount Prospect, again made arrangements with her parents when Major League Baseball announced last year the Cubs and Cardinals would finally play a two-game series this weekend at London Stadium, where West Ham United’s Premier League field has again been transformed into a temporary baseball field.

Unfortunately, Watts’ parents, both 80, were unable to make the trip to London because her mother became sick and is being cared for by her father.

“I’m blessed because they still wanted me to come,” Watts said as she teared up. “They said it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing and I had to go for them so that’s what I did. It’s bittersweet because I’m excited to be here, it’s great to see everything, but it’s hard because they were supposed to be with me. I was going to do it for their 58th wedding anniversary this year.

“Being a Cubs fan is a special and different thing. I don’t think you can say the same thing for the Cardinals. I’ve watched my parents with Cardinals fans and it’s not the same. There’s a camaraderie that we have that’s completely different.”

Cubs fans packed the pub Thursday afternoon as the festivities kicked off the lead-up to Saturday’s series opener at London Stadium. The radio broadcast team of play-by-play announcer Pat Hughes, analyst Ron Coomer and broadcaster Zach Zaidman led the programming, which included visits with chairman Tom Ricketts and pitcher Hayden Wesneski.

At one point, Cubs fans near the front started chanting, “Stroman! Stroman!” directed toward Ricketts in regard to a contract extension for ace Marcus Stroman. He told the crowd to send those requests to president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer. The Stroman contract talk again came up during a break from 670 The Score’s live broadcast when a Cubs fan asked Ricketts about the pitcher’s future in Chicago.

“Obviously he’s having a great season,” Ricketts said. “He’s really been an integral part of the chemistry of the team. Ultimately where that goes next year is in Jed’s court, I really mean that. So we’ll see where that ends up. It’s too early to speculate on that.”

The Cubs (36-38) come into the London Series having won 10 of their last 12 games and sit 3 1/2 games back of first-place Cincinnati in the National League Central. During a brief fan Q&A, Ricketts was asked whether the Cubs will be buyers or sellers as the Aug. 1 trade deadline approaches.

“Obviously we’re buyers right now,” Ricketts said, prompting cheers. “Things can come off the rails, but I don’t think they will. I think what we have is a core that can compete for the division and compete for the playoffs and now it’s finding the missing parts to add to it.

“I think Jed had a really good offseason. We came into this year thinking we’d be contending for our division. All the credit to (manager David Ross) and the players for coming together.”

Greg, 57, and Jenny Galanos, 58, of Fox River Grove, saw the Cubs series in London as the perfect opportunity to come across the pond and will be at Saturday’s game. Both were born and raised Cubs fans; Jenny’s father served as a strong influence on her fandom while Greg was surrounded by Cubs fans growing up on the northwest side.

“They were on TV all the time too so it was easy to embrace them,” Greg Galanos said. “They’re a global brand, honestly. Everyone in the U.S. watches them because they’d been on (WGN) around the country. So everywhere we go, we’ve been to games all over the country, there’s always Cubs fans. It’s not shocking they’re here internationally. We’ve met people here that are born and raised here and they’re Cubs fans.”

The Cubs’ roots in Des Moines, Iowa, span more than four decades as the site of their Triple-A affiliation, and in the process have helped spawn more fans. That’s how sisters Monica, 46, and Amber Wilson, 44, became devoted followers of the Cubs. Their grandmother would always have the Cubs’ 1:20 p.m. games on during their summer visits.

“It always was part of my childhood having the I-Cubs games to go to and the Cubs on TV,” Monica Wilson said. “It was so natural for me to be a Cubs fan. They were so accessible through the broadcasts.”

Although Monica Wilson and Amber Wilson have since moved to Baltimore and Houston, respectively, their fandom hasn’t wavered, which now includes Amber’s 11-year-old son Benjamin, who also made the trip to London. Benjamin’s first Cubs game memorably was at Wrigley during the 2016 World Series title season. He can’t wait to watch his favorite pitcher, Stroman, in person on an international stage Sunday. They were originally supposed to make the journey three years ago before the summer series was called off.

Amber Wilson recalled how she would listen to Cubs radio broadcasts with Benjamin when he was young to help him fall asleep. Benjamin had a chance to take a photo with Hughes and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, who stopped by Thursday’s event.

“I think MLB understands how loyal we are, even if you’re in third place in the National League Central this year, it doesn’t matter,” Amber Wilson said. “You buy the tickets even if you don’t know how good they’re going to be. It doesn’t matter because it’s the Cubs.”

Michelle Peterson, 56 of Glen Ellyn, wasn’t surprised to see the pub packed.

“Because Cubs fans are the best fans, right?”

Her husband Tom, 59, daughter Elise, 21, and Elise’s boyfriend Andrew Bylsma, 21 of Lombard, weren’t missing out on a chance to see their beloved Cubs play in an international game. Born in Minnesota, Tom Peterson initially supported the Twins until he moved to the Chicago area around 8 years old. He didn’t need to look far if he needed any convincing to change allegiance.

Cubs pitcher Milt Pappas was his family’s new next-door neighbor — the former All-Star’s driveway served as the street’s elementary school bus stop.

“So, you’ve got to become a Cubs fan,” Tom Peterson said with a grin. “It was the classic story of coming home from school to catch the last couple innings.”

The Petersons’ group initially planned to only walk by the pub to check out the hoopla from outside before continuing on to more touristy sites in London. Those plans quickly changed.

“This only happens once in my lifetime likely,” Tom Peterson said. “Buckingham Palace is not going anywhere. Big Ben will be there.”