Ryne Sandberg believes the 2016 Cubs are hungry and ready to go

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If anybody understands the relationship Cubs fans have with their team, it's Ryne Sandberg.

The Hall of Famer who spent 15 years with the Cubs as a player and then another four seasons as a manager in the minor leagues knows what it's like to play for a fanbase who hasn't experienced a championship in more than a century.

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The 2016 Cubs will enter the year with a target on their backs after a surprising run to the National League Championship Series and a headline-making offseason.

What's it like to play in this Chicago market with lofty expectations?

"It's the best," Sandberg said as he stopped by Comcast SportsNet and the AT&T U-Verse Lounge Thursday. "[The Cubs] experienced it a lot last year the way that they came along and surprised a lot of people."

Sandberg said he got an up-close look at the upstart Cubs over the final couple months of the 2015 season as they got hot.

"Everything I saw and noticed, they just answered the bell," Sandberg said. "They were saying all the right things and they were talking about winning.

"I think the fact they were so young really helped them. They really didn't know what they were accomplishing. They were just having fun and playing good baseball and winning and that really snowballed. I think they fell short of their goals last year - as it turns out - and I think they're going to come back hungry and experienced.

"With everybody shooting for them, that will be the challenge. They're not going to surprise as many people this year. You have to make some adjustments and work hard and play good baseball."

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Sandberg also spent some time discussing his friendship with comedic icon - and noted Cubs fan - Bill Murray, including Murray attending Sandberg's Hall of Fame induction in Cooperstown, N.Y.

"It was pretty wild," Sandberg said. "He was the star out there in the crowd, really. ... He was a lot of fun at the parties, that's for sure."

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