Your Ten Things To Do On A Wrigley Field Pilgrimage

9. Eat at Harry Caray’s
8. Play catch with my Dad on Waveland Avenue
7. Watch the players come into the stadium
6. Catch batting practice on Waveland
5. Go in early and get autographs
4. Watch the Cubs win
3. stay late to get autographs
2. watch the players leave and get more autographs
1. Celebrate the win somewhere

My wife considers a weekend in Chicago and Wrigley as a necessity.
1) Thurs AM get to a downtown Hotel, early check in (for nostalgia my wife likes the Knickerbacker, I like the Hilton Towers. 2) In the afternoon go to the Art Institute on her parents membership, Dinner in evening go to the 1st Ward and Roditys and OOPPA!
2) Friday AM go to Lou Mitchell’s get some double yoke and Milk Duds, walk back to the EL and go to the park.
3) Get an expensive Brat at Murphy’s before the game enjoy the feeling. Be in the park by 12:30
4) After the game go to Gino’s East downtown, for dinner. Change clothes and go to Jazz Bar with best headliner of the night.
5) Next morning (Saturday) Lite breakfast in bed, walk No Michigan Av., then go back to the park, this time simply get an Italian Beef/Combo at Eat and Run and bring inside the park.
6) Back to the hotel, unwind shower and get dressed go to a Grant Park Concert. Walk hand in hand.
7) Sunday morning Check out, go to Sunday morning brunch at Drake Hotel.
8) Take EL to the game, one last time…..
9) Return from park on EL, go up to the 95th Floor on Hancock and get an appetizer see HS classmate.
10) Retrieve suitcases and take Metra home, exhausted.

10. Play catch with my son out on the street and get a bite to eat that screams “Chicago,
” – beef, dogs, pizza.
9. Sit in the bleachers.
8. Wear my glove and try to catch a BP homer.
7. Taunt the opposing team’s outfielder.
6. Teach my son to keep score.
5. Drink my first beer of the day and toast Harry.
4. Three words: Spinny Onion Thing
3. Sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at the top of my lungs.
2. Try to convince our outfielders to toss my son a warmup ball.
1. Take my son over to the player’s parking lot afterwards to try and get autographs.

1) Walk up the stairs waiting for the explosion of light when the field comes into view.
2) Listen to the organist, playing name that tune, and watch BP.
3) Keep score.
4) Visit one of the urinal troughs, and sprinkler sinks.
5) Run up the ramps to the upper deck.
6) Read the diagonal. Nite Games. for all the American League teams.
7) Feel superior.
8) watch as the Phillies put up a red 6 on the scoreboard in the 1st inning against the Cards
9) A home run, a hit batter, and a bases loaded double.
10) a beer in a bar before heading home.

1. Wait til I hear the national anthem to head over to the park
2. Find my seats
3. Take out my drink that I snuck into the park
4. Yell “Hey’re you go” (Hey’re is my word for a combo of Here and There) when the team takes the field
5. Get overly pumped for whichever starting Cub Im closest too
6. Get a sausage and a bag of peanuts
7. Continually wipe peanut shells off my pants
8. Go to the bathroom right before the 7th inning stretch
9. Yell “Hey Cubs Win” after the final out (hopefully)
10. Walk home, barreling through the lingering folks and drunkerds

...do a vote about the top ten things to do on a Wrigley Field Pilgrimage, and post it on a page somewhere. I’ll be making my first trip to Wrigley, and would love to have a guide showing and telling me what to do and where to go on my trip later in the year. I’m sure others will also.

I’m also sure the Cubs will have something of the sort, but its always better to hear from those whose experienced it than corporate HQ.

... I’ll put it on the sidebar under “BCB Specials”.

1. Ride the Red Line out to Addison, looking out for the ballpark when it first comes into view.

2. Take a slow stroll round the outside of the park just for the Wrigleyville atmosphere, taking in the Marquee, the Harry and Ernie statues, the ballhawks gathering on Waveland for batting practice.

3. Find your seat, hot dog in one hand, Old Style in the other, and toast your luck for being here.

4. Fight through the crowds on the concourse to buy yourself a cubbie souvenir or two.

5. Open your scorecard and scribble down the starting lineups ready to keep score. Check out the other games on the scoreboard. Listen to the organ. Chat with the people around you.

6. Grab your camera as the Cubs take the field for the first inning.

7. Give up scoring in the seventh when you realise you completely missed the last double switch and you’d rather stand up and sing Take me out to the ballgame than spend the stretch trying to get your card up to date.

8. Stand, clap and cheer as the Cubs closer works the ninth inning.

9. Sing Go Cubs Go loud and proud, catching the eyes of as many happy fellow fans as possible in the process.

10. Hang around a while after the game to soak in the Wrigley ambience. Take a last lingering look at the scoreboard. Turn to leave, vowing to return the first chance you get.

And of course, last but not least, if at all possible, somewhere along the line, drop in on the leftfield corner of the bleachers and say hi to Al.

I can only think of one highlight that’s a constant of almost every game that I attend. I ride the Ashland bus to most games and then approach the park walking east along Addison. When I reach the last block or so, and the red marquee comes into view…that’s just a great feeling, every single time but especially on an unseasonably warm spring afternoon…

Also, I like to sing along to the old “Hey Hey, Holy Mackerel” song when it’s played just before the first inning. And come what may, the Cubs are going to…WIN!...today.

1. Take advantage of the early bird discount on concessions.
2. Spot fans who are wearing any team but the Cubs’ apparel. Shun them.
3. Confidently assert “I woulda caught that” during the pregame pop fly catching contest in LF.
4. Watch the Cubs loosen up, notice who is doing what (throwing, running, stretching), see which guys are playing catch with each other (Theriot and DeRosa, for example). Laugh at Zambrano’s antics in the outfield shagging flies. Watch the “ceremonial first pitches”, grade their performances. Observe the other team warming up also, but not as closely.
5. Try my best to ignore the people who are clearly not there to see the game. (“Stop standing in front of everyone DURING PLAY! Go stand in the back of the concourse!”)
6. Hang on the edge of my seat for every pitch. Track the starters’ pitch counts. Occasionally glance at the other scores around the league.
7. Stand and cheer for every Cubs run.
8. Shake my head at Marmol’s ridiculous sliders.
9. Express disappointment in certain moves (using Fontenot as a pinch-hitter, Cedeno being benched, etc.)
10. Sing Go Cubs Go at the top of my lungs and try to hang around the field as long as possible to soak it all in. Grab anyone’s forgotten giveaways (especially bobbleheads!) that are resting alone on the concrete. Go home happy.