The Cubbies have come back from the brink.

Have you ever seen a collective fan base, those long-time diehards and the millions of people who have adopted the Chicago Cubs, change moods so quickly? Down two games to one in the National League Championship Series after being shut out on consecutive nights, the Cubbies exploded with 18 runs to win games four and five over the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

Now they have one daunting statistic in their favor: the team that wins game five of a best-of-seven wins the series 70 percent of the time. That is the Cubs’ challenge moving back to Wrigley Field for game six Saturday night and, if necessary, game seven Sunday. The rowdy Cubs-mania awaits them outside and inside Wrigley, but some bad precedent must be overturned if they are to get back to the World Series for the first time since 1945, that’s 71 years ago.

The Cubs were close twice in recent memory. In 1984, they led the Padres two games to none, before dropping three straight in the division series. And in 2003, they led the Marlins in the championship series 3-1 before again losing three straight and the pennant. And, of course, there was Steve Bartman in game six of the Marlins series, when Bartman and several spectators interfered with a foul ball down the left field line that the Cubs might have caught and been four outs away from moving on to the World Series.

Of course, the big ghost is the Curse of the Billy Goat, which is the drought of the Cubbies not winning a world championship since 1908. In that 1945 World Series, the owner of Billy Goat Tavern was asked to leave Wrigley because the smell of his pet goat Murphy on his body and clothes was bothering other fans. On the way out, the tavern owner declared, “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more.”

One more victory over the Dodgers and the Cubs will get a chance to put that smelly proclamation to rest for good. To get there, they will have to beat LA lefties Clayton Kershaw and maybe Rich Hill one time in either game six or game seven. The odds, at least, are with them.