Being a degenerate, unrepentant Baseball fan, it was absolutely, 100% necessary I take time out of my visit to Chicago to catch a Cubs game. It was a sunny (though still somewhat chilly) day, and the Cubs were celebrating the 100th year of baseball being played at Wrigley Field.
The game featured the Cubs playing the Arizona Diamondbacks, but as this game was to mark the centennial of the first game played at the venue on April 23rd 1914, the two teams took the field wearing the uniforms of the two teams who played the first game - the Chicago Federals and the Kansas City Packers.
As I had arrived a bit late, I missed out on the Throwback jersey give away. Fans attending the game were given a Chicago Federals jersey from the 1914 season. I stared enviously at the punctual attendees with their souvenir jerseys periodically as I watched the game.
Beginning of the 9th, Cubs have a 5-2 lead, the crowd starts to thin...
After the crowd sang Happy Birthday in the fifth, I left my seat for a self guided tour of the "friendly confines". At 100 years old, Wrigley is the second oldest Baseball field in the U.S. - Fenway Park in Boston is the oldest, at 102 (caught a Red Sox/Yankees double header at Fenway a few years back - that was a great day!)
The "friendly confines" nickname is apt for two reasons. First, most everybody there is super-friendly. Second, the place is small, and feels even smaller than it's actual dimensions. The upperdeck and rooftops give the place a claustrophobic feel.
Unique to Wrigley are the rooftop seats on apartment buildings along Waveland and Sheffield avenues, which overlook right and left fields (The huge hand-turned scoreboard in centerfield prevents any rooftop seats from getting a view in that area). The seats were amateurish affairs until the 1990's, when actual bleachers were built by the building owners. The Cubs planned to build "spite fences" due to the owners charging for the seats, but a compensation deal was worked out so the fences were never built.
The people in those stands are not counted in official attendance figures, btw.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ballpark, adverts from different eras were plastered all over. Pricing for souvenirs, food & beverages, as well as admittance, were all about 2014 though.
Step right up and get yourself a keepsake...
Cubs fans love their team. It's mind boggling how decked out in Cubs gear the average fan is. Very, very few fans were not sporting at least a Cubs hat.
Many fans wore Cubs gear that was home made. That's dedication right there.
The dedication to singing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" was pretty impressive, too. I've never witnessed so many people singing along in any other ballpark. Maybe it was just due to the 100-year celebration.
There were a few former Cubs players, Fergie Jenkins and Billy Williams, as well as former Chicago Bears linebacker Dick Butkus, and even the late Harry Caray's widow, Dutchie, leading the crowd in the sing-along.
The game ended with a failed Cubs attempt to rally back from the Diamondback comeback. Cubs fans emptied out Wrigley in mellow spirits, but with an odd, causal acceptance of their teams collapse. I swear I heard a few fans already talking about next year...it's only April!
Somehow, the Cubs blowing a 3-run 9th inning lead and losing to the Diamondbacks was the best first Cubs game at Wrigley Field that I could have hoped for. If they had rallied to win, I think I would have felt cheated.
The Diamondbacks, who are stinking up the NL West, might want to consider keeping the uniforms and name of the KC Packers. Couldn't hurt.
The area around Wrigley Field is an old neighborhood teaming with restaurants and bars, and after the game they were packed. The Cubs faithful recounted the highlights and low-lights to one another as they knocked back beers and ate great pizza, all the while talking about the "good 'ol days" of Cubs baseball...
Seriously. The good ol' days.
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