PITTSBURGH — Ian Happ is the last remnant of a Cubs era where a scene like Wednesday’s was the norm.

Smoke filled clubhouses from the puffs of cigars, the mist of champagne piercing through the air as players drenched one another. That type of celebration is so common in baseball when a team clinches a playoff berth or advances in the playoffs. That’s what Happ’s rookie campaign in 2017 was like.

[MORE: Ian Happ reflects on emotional journey towards Cubs’ playoff berth]

But that was so long ago that it almost feels like a bygone age.

So, after the team sealed their berth in the 2025 MLB playoffs with an 8-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cubs manager Craig Counsell knew who needed to address the team in the visitors’ clubhouse at PNC Park before the champagne filled the air again.

“Ian was the last Cub player to celebrate, and that meant a lot to him,” Counsell said. “You could absolutely tell when he spoke, so happy he got to do that, and proud that he got to do that.”

His message was simple: Enjoy this, celebrate it and then dive back into the grind on Thursday in Cincinnati.

[WATCH: Nico Hoerner celebrates Cubs’ first playoff berth since 2020]

“You could hear the emotion in his voice and how much it means to him,” Matthew Boyd said. “It means so much to all of us, and we’re not done yet. That’s the most important thing is [that] we still know where we want to go.

“We have a job to do, and it starts tomorrow against Cincinnati. But we’re excited and we’re going to enjoy this while we can right now.”

[READ: Pete Crow-Armstrong sends Cubs fans sincere message before MLB playoffs]

Enjoying the celebration was so crucial for Happ. He was on the 2018 team that lost in the NL Wild Card to the Colorado Rockies. They never had the champagne party because they waited until they clinched an NL Central crown that never came.

Like so many others, skipping out on the champagne party that year wasn’t a big deal.

“Happer said the last time that he got to celebrate like this was 2017, and when you’re in it, you think it’s going to happen every year and the fact,” Boyd said. “And the reality is that this is really hard to do.”

Happ waited seven long years. He made the playoffs in 2020 with the Cubs, but didn’t celebrate because of the restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Then came the rebuild that began the next year, followed by two agonizingly close misses to the playoffs in 2023 and 2024.

So, when Oneil Cruz’s fly ball settled into his glove for the final out on Wednesday, sealing their playoff berth, the feelings began to almost overwhelm him.

“I got emotional catching the last out,” Happ said. “Just the years, the ups and downs, the beginning of my career and how expected this was to the last couple of years falling just a little bit short. Getting back is a good feeling.”

The baseball season is a marathon, one that relentlessly tests you every single day. That’s why it was so important to soak in the champagne and the moment.

You just don’t know when it will come again. The Cubs hope it’s the first of many champagne showers, but, as Happ knows, that could also be the last one in a while.

[Craig Counsell recounts the 2025 season after clinching playoff berth]

“There’s so much ahead and onto to the next thing, but take a moment today to appreciate each other, appreciate how long a season it is,” Nico Hoerner said of Happ’s message. “And no matter where you’re at individually, celebrate each other and be a part of a special day because you don’t know when it’s going to happen again.”

And Happ emphasized to the team that when they wake up in Cincinnati on Thursday, the mentality shifts to winning that day and trying to secure a home game in the playoffs.

“We got to keep going, we got to keep working and we got to keep grinding,” Carlos Santana said of Happ’s message. “A lot of work to do to get that first playoff game to be at home in Wrigley.”