and it was the game last year after the D-Lee fight, the Cubs got SPANKED. I guess the highlight was seeing Greg Maddux pitch..

“Question” isn’t a very good title.

I have attended 2 Cubs games at Wrigley. Cubs lost to the Sox one day and I’ll never forget the other. I had my video cam recording all the fans standing and cheering for the final out. We were up 2 and I was elated to get it all on camera. Then A.J. hit a 3 run bomb and we lost. Barf.

It was Cubs vs. Reds in April… I was playing hooky and our starter was Sergio Mitre vs. someone for the Reds… It was a game where the Reds went up by a lot and the Cubs kept chipping away… Then in the 8th or something Ramo Martinez led off with a double and he was called out for batting out of order.. The bleachers littered the outfield and we came back with a bunch of dramatic home runs. I think Moises hit two from the seventh on. We ended up winning in the bottom of the ninth on back to back jacks from Sosa and Moises. Most exciting game I have ever been too..

The next day i was also there we lost 3-2 when Kerry got squeezed and the outfield went nuts again… I think i also went on that Sunday and we won with Maddux pitching and he got shelled.. Help Al?

But the first game was the best game I had ever been to i believe…

in 2003 with my son in the nosebleed seats. We watched a great game (the outcome could have been better) and cheered our lungs out. The Z no-hitter is a close 2nd. Oops, that was in Wrigley North.

1) Cubs-Cardinals summer of ‘90 – My first baseball game ever, Cubs win 5-4, Grace and Ryno hit HRs. Ryno’s landed about 10 feet from where we were. Being my favorite Cub at the time (and still) it couldn’t have been better.

2) Cubs-Marlins – Game 1 – My friend lucked into the ticket lottery and we were in the bleachers again. The place was so electric and I honestly thought Wrigley would crumble after Sosa’s HR in the 9th. Also could’ve ended better but I will always, always remember that one.

3) Z’s no-hitter. Not quite Wrigley but close enough.

4) September ’04 – Brewers I think, Sammy hit his 60th HR for the second straight year. Suspect in retrospect, but at the time it was astounding.

5) Any game where the Cubs won.

1.) Cubs v. Cards, Aug 8th 2008. The Cubs won in extras thanks to a hit from Hank White. Insane. Its the only Cubs extra innings game I’ve been to.
2.) Cubs v. Dodgers, Sept. of 2007… Technically I wasnt AT Wrigley, but I was at the rooftop on Murphys… wow, that was awesome, but the Cubs lost when Dempster blew a save after Soriano hit a pair of homers to give the Cubs a 4-1 lead.
3.) Cubs v. Padres, April 2005. Cubs lost, but in the concourse I got to meet Santo (awesome story in itself) AND shake hands with Maddux as he walked through the concourse towards the clubhouse an hour before gametime (he pitched the day before so I guess he didnt have to show up early like everyone else), AND I almost got an autograph from Nomar. Cubs lost 1-0 thanks to a Burnitz error though.

What could have been… Ive had tickets to the NLDS and NLCS in both 2007 and 2008 but wasnt able to go because the games were never played… ugh.

early candidate for the 2009 Oxymoron of the Year award…

Cubs clinch the division and playoff spot vs. the dreaded Cardinals. The day before my friends and I went to the game hoping to see the Cubs clinch. But they got their asses kicked so the next day we got standing room seats only (from our friend that works for the Cubs for $15) and got to see Woody close out the game.

People next to us were paying $150 for their SRO seats. The atmosphere during the 9th inning was something I will NEVER forget.

The division had been clinched, this was kind of a warmup for the playoffs. And the Cubs made a stirring 9th inning comeback and beat the Cardinals 2-1, denying Bruce Sutter what would have been at the time, a record-breaking 46th save.

No one left the park. About ten minutes after the game ended, the entire team came back on the field, some in sweatshirts and shower clogs, to do a “victory lap”. Now, remember this was 25 years ago — teams didn’t do that back then. It was a remarkable moment, and also remember at the time we were all optimistic that the Cubs, who had the best record in the NL, would make the World Series.

Sigh. Didn’t happen, but that was still a magic moment. I have the game on tape and still watch that 9th inning from time to time.

late ’80s. I was still in Cleveland but taking a training class in that booming metropolis of St. Charles, Illinois. Some other co-workers were on a project in Chicago, somehow extorted the client and ended up getting one of those company boxes for a game. They had an extra ticket, I came down and saw a great game even though I think Cubs lost (against the Reds). Beautiful day, I think Ryno hit a home run, great seats, and I was just sitting there soaking it all in, loving every minute of it.

Here’s the cool part though. Game’s moving along, I’m watching the action on the field, then all of a sudden, I hear this “THWACK!”. It’s a somewhat familiar sound, but I can’t quite place it. I look around, and I hear it again – “THWACKK!!!”. It’s even louder this time. It’s coming from the Cincinnati bullpen. “THWACKKK!!!”, I look closer and check the scorecard… it’s some guy named Rob Dibble.

I spent the next 5 minutes just watching Dibble warm up. Baseball, grass, Cubs, Wrigley Field, sorta playing hooky from work, Ryno hits a dinger, Harry singing TMOTTBG, an adult beverage (or two), and this indescribable feeling of having ‘discovered’ somebody.

Obviously I’m no scout and just as obviously this was no discovery – Dibble had already made it to the majors. But just the sense that here I was, in baseball heaven seeing somebody for the first time and he was bringing it! Kinda like that scene from Ken Burns baseball where Buck ONeill is describing the three times he felt something special when seeing somebody hit (Josh Gibson, Babe Ruth?, and Bo Jackson). Very cool…

The last regular season home game in 1989 against the Pirates. I will never forget walking into Wrigley for the very 1st time that day! It was awesome Cubs won a hell of a game that day. Afterwards they did their triumphant run around the field getting showered with beer and slapping high fives! It was awesome!

A wee lad of eleven or so and my dad’s boss kicked him some of his season tickets: roughly ten rows back of the first base line. I’ll never forget walking up the steps (with the “beware of foul balls” sign above them) and seeing the beautiful clash of clear blue sky and fresh green grass. I imagine my Cardinal-loving dad, in spite of seeing his son side with the enemy, loved introducing me to America’s game firsthand.

Who they played, and the outcome, has long ago escaped my memory, but it doesn’t matter; it was Wrigley, it was the Cubs, and I was happy.

Like I said, it’s been many years, and I’ve been to games at other parks since then, but that sight will never leave me.

since they have been shut out all 3 games I’ve been to. At least two of which were against the Stros, so I refuse to EVER go again when the play them. Once was Labor Day last year (Oswalt), and a few years ago I saw Rocket pitch…I can’t remember the other game, I just know we didn’t score any runs.

1. 2003 Division Clincher.

2. 2008 Division Clincher.

3. 1998 Wild Card Playoff win.

4. Kerry’s 20 K game

5. Andre Dawson hitting homerun in his last home at bat in 1987.;

6. Ryne Sandberg breaking the all time hrs by a 2nd baseman at the time and Gary Pressy starting up the Natural as the ball landed.

7. Aramis walkoff against the Brewers in 2007 that started the turnaround.

8. Kerry hitting a homerun on the first pitch he faced coming off the DL in 2000.

9. Kerry taking the field against the Mets for the first time in 2007.

10. Not a game but the beautiful Harry Caray day tributes either opening day or the other tribute day in 1998.

Is your friend’s aunts initials KM by any chance? If it is she’s a very close friend of the family and now works for Ernie but I think she started working with him more recently than 1977.

Rick and Paul Reuschel become the first brother pitching combination to throw a shutout as the Cubs blanked the Dodgers 7-0. My favorite Cub of that era, Rick Monday homered. Paul couldn’t get the save as he only pitched 2+ innings and the Cubs already had a big lead.

My dad – being as old as many of my friends’ grandfathers – got great box seats right by the visitors dugout as a “senior citizen” gift from his boss.

It was special because my dad knew with 100% certainty that the brother combo shutout was never accomplished previously. When Paul started the 9th inning, my dad must have mentioned it for the 1st of 10 times that inning.

…I’m about to play the cute card: My favorite recent memory would have to be taking my daughter to her first Cubs game this past May and singing “Take Me Out To the Ballgame” with her. (Cubs beat the Rockies 5-4.)

That was the comeback against the Brewers featuring Soto’s 3-run tying HR in the 9th and D-Lee’s winning hit in extras.

when ole stevie was being the target of thousands of pissed of cubs fans at wrigley, and the recipient of angry chants and cigarette burns. even though, lets face it, alou would not have caught that ball. that was hilarious but too bad for bartman. not really though. I was there when i was about nine and we had dugout seats on fan appreciation day and my dad caught Brian McRae’s hat when he tossed it into the stands and we got someone elses batting glove too. That was awesome

1. Probably with my son at the Division clincher against the Cards this year. This offseason, he mentions that game every time he sees something on the Cubs on TV.

2. 1998 July game versus the Phillies, 103 degrees plus on a rare Saturday night game and Kerry hit a HR to dead center shrubs three feet from me. Early date with my now wife.

3. 5/30/01 Lieber versus the Reds. Took my grandfather to his first game at Wrigley and sat and talked through a long rain delay. He was 91 that July.

4. 2003 Game 1 versus the Marlins. When Sosa hit the camera box, my eardrums almost bled it was so loud.

1. Tie game in the 8th and Jacques Jones hits a HR to put the Cubs up. I catch the ball in the right field bleachers. Couldn’t stop from shaking. Although Demps gave up a 3R HR to that mole AJ Pierzinski it was still my best moment.

1. I saw my first win there last year vs the Orioles. Being from Pittsburgh I don’t get to see but 3 games a year. I have a lifetime record of 1-8 there (including Game 1 last NLDS).

.. when I’m back home, truly home, in Wrigley with Mrs. Cubnational …

.. every moment, every second is precious to me .. It doesn’t take much for me to enjoy my own small pursuits of happyness

Last year’s Phillies game when Aramis hit the grand slam. My good buddy was in town from Vegas, It was a great pitching match up Dempster vs. Hamels and the end result was sublime. I probably have a dozen others, but with the season the Cubs were having and throw in it was the first day of instant replay and to top it off it was Sweet Lou’s birthday.

I’ll never forget leaving the park after that game, absolute euphoria.

4 friends and I went to Wrigley without tickets, left from Iowa at 3:30 in the morning to get in line for the tickets the players turn back in. That window is first come-first served and if you get out of line, you lose your spot. We stood in line for close to 5 hours (very close to the front may I add) and we received 4 tickets, 8th row club box, right behind the plate! Great game against Cincinnatti that we won, and Sammy yarded one to add to the enjoyment! My thought watching that ball sail out to left was “So that’s what it looks like to hit a home run at Wrigley…” The seats were so awesome it was as if I’d hit it myself.

I will never forget the smell, the sounds, and the overwhelming joy I felt at that moment.

it has to be the Ramirez walk-off against the Brewers in 2007. The fact that it came on the first pitch seemed to stun everyone around me for a split second, then the entire place erupted in peals of unbridled laughter and shrieks of joy.

The best game I ever attended was May 5, 2001—a 20-1 thumping of the Dodgers. The Cubs put up 8 runs in back-to-back innings, which I believe is still a record. I attended both games with my parents, who were visiting from Iowa, and until this year, had an unblemished record at Wrigley. They had the misfortune of attending this game.

Though I have many memories at Wrigley Field, the most salient involves an encounter with Rogers Hornsby after a game on August 29, 1959. I was waiting near the players clubhouse under the grandstand hoping to get an autograph when Mr. Hornsby appeared. He was, at the time, working as a batting instructor for the Cubs. I asked him to sign my score card but was told get out of the way as he quickly brushed past me. An older guy standing next to me called him a jerk. Fortunately, a few minutes later, Ernie Banks appeared and signed my scorecard. The Cubs had lost that day 11 to 4 to Warren Spahn and the Milwaukee Braves. Banks had knocked in all four runs with a grand slam. It is my favorite Wrigley Field memory.

Other great memories include getting Ken Hubbs autograph before a Dodger game when he won the Rookie of the Year in 1962. I also remember seeing Stan Musial’s last at bat at Wrigley in 1963. In June of 1967, along with a few dozen other beacher bums, I climbed down the left field wall and stormed the field as the Cubs moved into first place for the first time that season. Not long after that “the basket” was installed to discourage this activity from ever occuring again. Great times and great memories, but the ’58 Cubs will always be my team.

A very large man nearly knocked my friend to the ground while we went to get a round of beers in the bleachers. My then looked at the guy and said, “I swear that dude is familiar.” We went to our seats in the bleachers to see that same man sitting right behind us chatting up our female friends. Turns out, the huge guy was Sterling Sharpe.
We ended up talking to him the entire game. We figured it out about the third inning when his voice began to sound familiar. (We were on T.V. at one point, shown laughing hysterically as he told a bizarre yet hilarious story about Alonzo Spellman at the Crobar.)
He wound up inviting all of us to a party on the top floor of Hi-Tops afterwards. I was WAY underdressed (Sugar Daddy T-Shirt and DIRTBAGS hat for the Long Beach State baseball team). They kept trying to kick me out but Sharpe kept demanding that I stay. Former Raider d-back Jarrod Cooper was with Sharpe. He was a drunken mess.
Great stuff.
Oh, we couldn’t hit Pettite, Marshall got rocked, Chris flippin’ Burke hit like a 440 foot home run (we actually called that shot; he rocked BP that day), Preston Wilson went like 5 for 6 or something and the Cubs lost like 27-1.

… combine for a shutout against LA. This was the only game where brothers combined for a shutout. Rick left with a blister on his pitching hand. He had that problem often due to his “slurve.”

Other great memories include seeing Wayne Tyrone’s (Jim’s brother) hit his only career homerun, and seeing Mick Kelleher climb on Dave Kingman’s back (Kingman was with SD) and wrestle him to the ground. Steve Swisher was the second Cub in the melee, sprinting out to 2nd base from behind home plate. Kingman had taken Kelleher out at second on a DP, obviously Mick didn’t like it and took him on even though Kingman is a full foot taller than him. Best baseball brawl I ever saw in person. I’d have to check project scoresheet but I am pretty sure this was a second game of a doubleheader and Bill Buckner hit two home runs in one of the games.

I also saw Tug McGraw play catch with a Cubs fan on the field before a game. Probably 1984 or so. Pretty cool, always liked Tug after that.

At my nephew’s first game at Wrigley in 1986 Bob Brenly signed and gave him a baseball. Always liked BB after that.

The best thing I ever heard at Wrigley was Lou Rawls singing the National Anthem.

All memories of Wrigley are special …. these are my best.

The second time I attended a game at Wrigley (first ever time was the day before). It featured a come-from-behind victory against the hated Cardinals, and two cute girls kept buying me beer and invited me to a Mexican restaurant after the game. Good times, good times…

The Cubs beat the Pirates to reduce their magic # to 3. LIke after the 1984 season finale that Al referenced, the fans refused to go home. After about 30 minutes with 40,000 people chanting, “We want the Cubs!”, they came out and did a victory lap. Unlike the ‘84 team, they hadn’t won anything yet. What a thrilling experience.

For those Cubs fans in the crowd younger than 30, the Cubs even being in contention was exciting in itself for the rest of us. With 3 division titles in 6 seaons (the CUBS?!?), it’s hard to imagine how special that 1989 team was, especially to those of us too young to remember 1969.

Of course, a few years later, some fans thought that a victory lap was supposed to happen at the end of every season, but what the hell.

Skipped my high school graduation practice and watched Woody and Glavine in a duel. Kerry struck out 13, and Brant Brown won it in the 11th on a long home run. Me and my buddies bought tickets day-of and they were obstructed, but it was sweet.

In 2004 I was deployed to Afghanistan with the Army Reserves and i turned 21 over in the desert … i returned in early May 2005, like May 5th and on May 8th I was at a Cubs game with my Dad, our seats were way up in the 530’s i think, as in way upper deck left field … to be honest i don’t even remember who they played or who won … all i remember is being with my Dad and having the first beer he ever bought me be at Wrigley Field ….