My First Trip to Wrigley Field

I was finally able to fulfill a near lifetime-long desire--to attend a game at Wrigley Field. This now leaves me with attendance at two-thirds of the Holy Trinity of Historic Baseball Fields: Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. Notice that no corporate naming rights would dare soil the names of these ancient landmarks of baseball. My brother and I scalped tickets to the World Series in 1978?, the game Nettles made all those remarkable fielding plays and snuffed out their offense. When I walked out towards our seats and saw that field, it was truly breathtaking.

Our trip was something like the following submission to YouTube, except we left the car at home and enjoyed a leisurely train ride in to the city from South Elgin. From there we walked about a mile or two through the business center of the city to the subway, or elevated train. This was a hectic ride. The conductor drove like a kid with his newly minted license in a fast car. I swear he almost pitched the thing off the tracks a couple of times.

FIRST TRIP TO WRIGLEY FIELD IN CHICAGO

From the subway station, you walk up to Waveland Avenue, and after running the gauntlet of local pubs, with waitresses strategically placed out doors to attract current and future patrons, you arrive at the shrine: Wrigley Field.

It really is all it's cracked up to be. The fans are obscenely close to the action. Fans behind the home plate area could probably scratch the on-deck hitter or adjust his cup for him, without leaving their seats, should the need arise.

We were down the left field line, mid-way between third base and the left field bleachers. In the shade thankfully, as the sun was shining all afternoon. Good for the sun worshipers and those who came to scope out the oppo-sex. But we had a ballgame to watch and I wasn't going to waste my first timer at Wrigley on those prurient pursuits. There will be plenty of meaningless Cubs games in the future for that, if history is a guide. CUBS TRADITION 1: SEE THE EYE CANDY, BE THE EYE CANDY

Anyway, we saw a good game. An umpire with a generous strike zone kept the game moving along with numerous backwards K's. This forced the hitters to swing the bats, resulting in four home runs. One was hit by Carlos Lee of the Astros onto Waveland Avenue, where it stayed for awhile, presumably in the loving arms of the fan who caught it or chased it down there. However, upon being told by the left-field bleacher patrons who hit the ball there, the fan who caught it felt obliged to derisively toss the ball back into left-field, to the considerable delight of Cubs fans throughout the park. TRADITION 2: THROW THE OPPOSITION'S HR BALLS BACK.

The Cubs fans seemed to have many unique traditions that I have not seen elsewhere. The left field patrons seemed to be the leaders of the pack of all fans in the stadium as they took it upon themselves to mock and deride and generally distract Carlos Lee while he attempted to patrol left-field for the Astros. I presume they did this to most LF'ers in the league, as they seemed quite good at it. Many times Mr. Lee would look back as if he was taking down names and faces for future reference, should a good public thrashing of said fan be in order. These guys must have had a field day with Barry Bonds. TRADITION 3: MAKE THE OPPOSITION FIELDERS LIFE AS MISERABLE AS POSSIBLE.

Anyway, the LF bleacher fans at one time seemed to believe that the right-field bleacher fans were not on top of their responsibilities regarding making the Astros right-fielders stay in Chicago miserable. So they began the chant, "Right Field sucks, Right Field sucks". This seemed to re-energize the right field bleacher-ettes for the rest of the game.
TRADITION 3A: MAKE CAMERON CRAZIES SEEM LIKE THE AMATEURS THAT THEY ARE.

I mean c'mon, how hard is it really to bring an 18 or 19 year-old superstar to tears. This is THE SHOW, THE MAJOR LEAGUES. These guys have been razzed by minor league leather-lungs that are probably too drunk to see their targets. You have to have serious s_ _ t-talking game to get under major-leaguers skin.

Anyway, we looked forward to the most popular tradition, the seventh inning stretch and the singing of take me out to the ballgame. We got ex-Cub and current local commentator Dan Plesac, so we knew there was going to be zero controversy. A real straight shot. But it's really a genuinely quaint tradition. And it seems like the game really begins right around the time the crowd gets done singing. The intensity of the crowd really picks up, they get a second wind. Which in fact, is exactly what the seventh inning stretch is meant to do. The communal sing-a-long is just an added bonus. When you think about it, in most parks, the seventh inning stretch is an excuse for a communal town meeting in the bathroom.
SO THEN THIS WOULD BE BETTER THEN--NOW WOULDN'T IT?
TRADITION 4: SING TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME

Anyway, the Cubs hold on to win. Since Harry Caray is no longer around to shriek CUBS WIN, CUBS WIN anymore, it seems like a new tradition is bubbling up. The post game GO CUBS GO Serenade as shown below.

CUBS FANS CONTINUE TO SING "GO CUBS GO"

TRADITION 5: POST GAME FRIVOLITY

Anyway, it was a great time. The intensity of a playoff baseball game, the fun and frivolity of a college football or basketball game and the charm and unique community identity of a minor league baseball game all rolled up into one event. HOW CAN YOU BEAT THAT?

The only other time I got the same unique feeling, as if the game wasn't rolled out of the same cookie cutter as all the others was when I saw a college baseball tournament game at Durham Bulls Stadium in North Carolina. For the seventh inning stretch, instead of take me out to the ballgame the speakers blared and the fans sung along to James Taylor's "Carolina on my Mind". HOW PERFECT IS THAT, like John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" at a Rockies game or Sinatra belting out "New York, New York" at Yankee Stadium, they're just made for each other. They just SO perfectly fit for that time and place and event. It gave me chills at the time, very emotional.

CAROLINA ! courtesy www.mrtarheel.com

I can see why the Cubs sell out games regardless of the teams record. It is like a block party with a ball game going on around it. So for now, officially, given that the Giants are all but dead and buried, I am exercising the my-teams-out-of-it, the home-teams-in-it, they-aren't-a-clear-front-runner so I can root them on the rest of the way without violating any of the Official Rules of Fandom. So please, STFU now, I don't want to hear it. I'll be back with my team when they need me. And when they show at least some of the characteristics of life a fan expects of his/her team.
GO CUBS!!!!