Waiting 10 years to see it in person

I saw 13(!!!) straight losses from 2003-2007, including a game in which I had rooftop seats and Dempster blew a September save last year… I thought I was cursed. I saw Z lose 3 games in 2006. It was a bad stretch. To make things worse, I had playoff tickets for game 4 of the NLDS, which never got used of course…

This year, on the other hand, the Cubs have won all 5 games I’ve gone to… isnt it a great year?

My second game ever at Wrigley, they called for rain, me and a friend drove up from Texas and were hoping to see Greg Maddux pitch. When we got there, we asked an usher if he thought they would get it in(he must have been 70yrs old). He turned and asked us who was pitching that day, We both said at the same time Mad Dog! He looked at us, then the sky and say’s, yes, but just barely. Greg threw a four hit CG, the Cubbies won 4-2, and when the final out was caught, the rain poured down!

My first game at Wrigley involved seeing Jonathan Leicester make his first career start in 2005 after watching the Cubs on WGN for 25 years. He was a guy I saw in college at the Univ. of Memphis, in AA at West Tenn, and in AAA at Iowa (as a visiting player). I was surprised to see him make the big leagues because he was not a wonderful pitcher in college.

I had no idea he was going to start when I was making that 8.5 hour drive up to Chicago. There was a long rain delay during the game. My program with Ryno on the cover got soaked. Leicester had a rough game. Michael Barrett hit a HR to get him off the hook for the loss. The Mets won the game against LaTroy Hawkins.

the Phillies were in town…and Mike Schmidt was on the roster but was out that day with an injury. It’s been a LONG TIME!
 I got to talk to the Phillies’ CF, Greg Wilson, before the game started for about 20 minutes off and on. It was awesome. I asked him what it was like to stand at the same place that Ruth had stood and called a shot…he didn’t know that Ruth had ever played at Wrigley! (players these days!)
I told Wilson tat I thought he would have a good game, considering the wind. He went 4 for 4 with 2 doubles and a home run.
 That’s what I love about Wrigley…That’s why they call it the “Friendly Confines”. There aren’t many parks/stadiums in MLB where you could get that opportunity.
 That’s the game I took my wife (newly married) to so she could see what a real baseball park and a real baseball game looks and feels like…and I wanted her to see it before they did something awful…like put LIGHTS in it!
 I watched that first Wrigley night game back in St Louis on TV. When it rained I said to my wife….“see? even God doesn’t like this”!
 So (and I want to stay on subject here) I’ve always wondered how the Cubs fans feel/felt about the lights. It’s a good and bad thing to me. I guess it’s good for scheduling purposes, I guess, but it was the end of something absolutely beautiful…a place where EVERY game was played in the daytime…the way it was intended. Just like Ernie Banks always said……….“the sky is blue, the sun is shining, let’s play two”!
 I would like to go to a night game at Wrigley once, just to see what that’s like but I don’t think I’d change my opinion, I’m too much of a purist.

For me, it was the last game of the 1999 home series vs. the White Sox. I treated my dad and brother (who later became a White Sox fan) to the bleachers for what ended up being the final game of a White Sox sweep.

For the curious, here’s the box score

We were a little late getting to the game, and walking along Waveland toward the bleacher entrance when a cheer goes up from the crowd. There I am, in prime ballhawk territory, and we’re the only ones on the street! Unfortunately for me, Gaetti’s long ball ended up in the seats.

We made our way in to the game with dark clouds threatening. The Cubs had a 4-2 lead going into the 7th, and then the skies opened up. As it was still early enough in the game for beer sales to continue, the folks who decided to ride it out at least had something to do during the delay. The 3.5 hour rain delay.

We drank Wrigley Field out of beer.

It was raucous enough while there was still baseball being played – it got downright silly while it poured. At one point, I cautiously staggered down to the men’s room, only to be greeted by three rather flushed young men who pointed at me and chanted, “New guy! New guy! New guy!” I waved at them, and they demanded, “Head in the sink! Head in the sink!” Doffing my cap, I ducked my head into the sink, they hit the foot pedal for water, and slapped my back – “Baptized at Wrigley, dude!”

Up in the stands, one White Sox fan was bragging about how much better the Southsiders were than the Cubs that year. He was attentively listened to by two largish guys in blue. Then 3. Then 4. Then he turned red and walked away. I was amused by this, but then again, I’d had enough Old Style that catching raindrops on my tongue was amusing, too.

That was probably the closest it ever got to getting out of hand, though. Mostly, it was a bunch of guys and gals standing around, drinking beer, and talking Cubs baseball for a few hours. It was just like being in some guy’s backyard on any summer weekend afternoon, difference being that the backyard we were hanging in belonged to the Cubs themselves.

The game resumed, Terry Mulholland blew the lead, and Rick Aguilera gave up the game-losing homer. We squelched out, ate some crappy Chinese food, and then made our way back out to the ‘burbs. Even though the Cubs lost, getting to hang out at Wrigley for 5+ hours is definitely something I’ll never forget – even if I never do quite remember all of it.

Cubs lost to the Phillies something like 11-2. Herman Franks (bless his heart) got tossed. In between cigarettes Larry Biittner had three or four hits and WAS the Cub offense.

My first game(s) were a double-header back in the 1977 season….a Saturday affair that was one long hot day…my first ever trip was in the bleachers…

…fast-forward a few years and I was old enough to really remember the games…witnessed the Cardinals get spanked on a Friday the day before Sandburg hit two off of Sutter…front row next to Cubs bullpen

…my friend had tickets won at a silent auction…for Wood’s 20 strike-out game…200 level just behind the Cubs dugout

…took my wife and 13-month old son on a Sunday to see Sosa hit homeruns 61 and 62 against the Brewers…100 something tickets up from the Brewers bullpen…

…was there that fateful October night when Alex Gonzales muffed a double play ball and let the Marlins put up an 8-spot in the 8th…centerfield bleachers, on the aisle, could see Mark Prior’s fastball and curve dancing all night…

…a few weeks ago, in a rain and lightning filled affair that saw tornado sirens and where my family and I were the Cubs family of the game (you bet that picture is frmaed already)…that saw a loss, but it happens…

I have enjoyed this board so far, and look forward to a huge post-season this year…