【klimt eroticism】

The klimt eroticismscene sounds like something straight from Hollywood: Star player, saddled with expectations but humbled by struggle, rallying his teammates in their most precarious moment to prove true sports heroism isn't defined so much by stats and feats as it is by character and resolve.

Yet this isn't a silver-screen movie. It's something even wilder -- the Chicago Cubs' first World Series win in 108 years. And Jason Heyward, for all his struggles since signing a $184 million contract before this season, came through in a major way when his teammates needed him most.

But perhaps the craziest part of this inspirational micro-story about the power of belief is that Heyward, the $184 million man, didn't come through on the field. He came through at a time no one could have predicted.

When a rain delay halted Game 7 of the World Series before it could go to extra innings, the Cubs were on the ropes. Aroldis Chapman, their overworked star closer, had just blown a two-run lead. The game was tied at six runs apiece. Cleveland had seized all the momentum before its raucous home crowd.

Yet the Cubs would soon storm back with two runs in the 10th to break the most infamous curse in sports and claim their first World Series win since 1908.

So what happened during that 17-minute rain delay?

"Jason Heyward led the way," Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant told Fox after the game was won and the celebration had began.

This was previously a year of peaks and valleys -- but mostly valleys -- for the 27-year-old Heyward, considered one of baseball's rising stars since he made his MLB debut with the Atlanta Braves in 2010.

Last December, he signed an eight-year, $184 million contract to join the Cubs. He was the team's fourth-highest paid player this year. When the season began, he was considered a key piece of the team's World Series push.

But by the the dawn of the World Series, Heyward had been relegated to the bench. He began the first three games against Cleveland watching from the dugout. Heyward had always been considered a stalwart defender more than a maestro at the plate, but his 2016 season was downright bad-- just a .230 batting average and seven home runs.

In the World Series -- the season's dramatic climax, with everything on the line -- the $184 million man had been diminished. Which makes what happened during Wednesday night's Game 7 rain delay all the more remarkable.

As a tarp was rolled out over the infield, Heyward ushered his teammates into a Progressive Field weight room. It was a players-only deal, according to post-game reports from Cleveland -- no coaches allowed. You can practically hear the Hollywood strings swelling under what Heyward said next.

"He spoke up and said this is about your teammates," catcher David Ross told USA Today. "He just said, `We’re the best team in baseball for a reason. Continue to play our game, support one another. These are your brothers here, fight for your brothers, lift them up, continue to stay positive. We’ve been doing this all year so continue to be us.' It was a great message, and well-said."

Later, while his teammates celebrated around him, Heyward gave Fox Sports his own summary of the speech.

"I just had to remind them who they were," he said. "I just had to remind everybody who we are, who these guys are, what we've overcome to get here. Win or lose, we never worry about that. At the beginning of the day, we never worry about win or loss. We just worry about how we're going to go out there and have fun, compete, be right there for the guys next to us and not take the situation for granted. I just had to remind them that I'm proud of them. I say it all the time, but I'm proud of you guys."

Multiple Cubs players were crying by the time Heyward finished speaking his inspirational message, according to USA Today. When the delay was over, the Cubs exited the weight room with hot bats after Heyward's pick-me-up talk.

Schwarber singled, and Ben Zobrist doubled soon after to drive in pinch-runner Albert Almora Jr. for a 7-6 lead. Then Miguel Montero singled to drive home Anthony Rizzo for what would end up as the deciding run in an 8-7 Chicago win that Cubs fans will never forget.

The 2016 World Series Game 7 box score will never be kind to Heyward, who finished 0-5 in the biggest game of his career. It will stand as a reminder of his season-long struggles at the plate after signing a massive free agent contract.

But while the box score for Game 7 might not make Heyward look good, true Cubs fans will know that he earned himself an eternal spot in Chicago sports lore. His rain delay weight room speech shows that the biggest contributions in life sometimes can't be quantified -- even for a $184 million baseball star.