Although it took a little longer than 45 minutes.  I left the house at 8:30 this morning, and got home at 8:00 tonight.

My group was scheduled to arrive between noon and 1 p.m., and audition starting at 1.  My row was taken to the restaurant at the far third-base side of the main concourse, just inside from the Harry Caray statue.  One guy in my row had come in all the way from Kansas just for the audition.

Once inside, they asked me to "tell about myself" and prompted me with questions like, "So you lived outside Illinois for a long time.  Did you ever have any interesting interactions with fans of other teams?"  "You must have been to a lot of ballgames.  What is your favorite Wrigley Field memory?"  And then the expected question, "Why should you be selected to sing the seventh inning stretch?"  

I had three guys on my "panel" and they said "great job" at the end.  It was pleasant talking to the other fans and the Cubs staff did a nice job of welcoming people and being friendly in the audition.  I walked all the back around through the main concourse to exit again through Gate K, by the firehouse.  It was interesting to stroll through a quiet Wrigley.  The only thing that would have been nicer is if they had decided to let us briefly walk across the field.  But if they had announced that, they might have had a lot more people apply.  

The drive up this morning took 3 hours.  After the audition, I went to Pequod's on Clybourn for some great pizza.  But traffic was awful on the way out, and it took me almost 5 hours to get home.  

I did manage to sneak in "bleed cubbie blue" in my last answer before singing.  If I (or TK) is one of the 50 selected for online voting, I expect everyone here to vote the Chicago way...early and often!

was pretty darn cool. It was well organized and pain free. The judges were really nice and offered to take a pic of my sister and me in front of the background. They did their best to make it feel special. There were 8 yr olds to 80 yr olds and everyone in between. I think they got a nice cross section of Cub fans to pick from.

Besides what I had put in my essay, I told them about the nearly 4 hr drive to Wrigley on $3/gal gas, through down pours and toll booths all for a half hour at Wrigley. Even if I don't make it to the next cut, it makes for a great story and is just about the biggest highlight of my Cub-lovin life.

It was also nice to take pics of a completely pristine and empty Wrigley and to get some good pictures in a not so busy Wrigleyville. And everyone we passed on the streets was friendly.

My sister had never been to Wrigley before. I tried to explain to her how awesome the ball park and surrounding area is, but she didn't get it until she walked around it. She is transfering to NIU this fall to become a teacher. Now she wants to live near Wrigley. She loved it! Who wouldn't???

Good luck to everyone else who participated. It would be great if everyone in the top 10 were BCB-ers!