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I am a firm believer that Opening Day should be a national holiday. But the only way we can make that happen is by getting together in large gatherings of fans and celebrating the start of the baseball season together!
Luckily, I know of a few Cubs fan meetups to get the party started. And I'm hoping readers of BCB know of some more, which I will add to this article as I learn of them.
If you're going to the game in Anaheim and want to pregame with me and my Cubs fan friends, the plan is to meet at Noble Ale Works between 4 and 5 p.m. It's a highly recommended brewery suggested by my beer connoisseur friend Kris Bonner, who has never steered me wrong when it comes to hoppy liquid. The brewery is less than a mile from the Angels ballpark! See you there!
Do you live near Edmond, Oklahoma, outside of Oklahoma City? Then you simply must attend the 1500-member Cubs Fans in Oklahoma watch party at Humble Pie, benefitting the Anthony Rizzo Foundation. CFIO is run by die-hard fan Wes Jameson, who has organized an auction of an autographed Anthony Rizzo jersey and ball, among other items. Here's the link to the Facebook Event. It's going to be a ton of fun for a great cause.
Hey, New Yorkers! Why not go watch the game where yours truly watched many a Cubs home opener? It was at Kelly's Sports Bar where I watched Jason Heyward hit his first Major League home run off of Carlos Zambrano on Opening Day 2010. Kelly's is New York's only Cubs bar, which is why I wrote an article about the joint a few years back. Gerry the bartender will be serving up Joe Maddon-inspired "Shot and a Beer" specials for $10. Tell him Danny Rockett sent ya!
Cubs fans living in Denver can enjoy food and drink specials at Denver Deep Dish LoHi. They've created a Facebook Event for their Opening Day party to which you can RSVP!
Of course, Cubs fans living in Chicago can watch the game with other fans just about anywhere, but if you live anywhere else, there might be a Cubs fan meetup for you to attend at Meetup.com. Just search "Cubs" in your general area. But beware! There are meetups for other kinds of Cubs in the search results. I'll trust you can discern which are which.
I would love to add more cities to this list. So if anyone reading this knows of more Cubs bars around the world where fans can gather to watch our beloved Cubs open the season, please leave them in the comments and I'll add them to the main page. Or email me.
This article I wrote about last year's playoff meetups could also prove to be a useful resource.
So how about it, Cubs fans? It's a late night game if you're in the Central or Eastern time zone, but it's Opening Night! Where are you watching the game?
Cities added since publishing this article.
Nashville and Germantown (Memphis), TN 312 Pizza Company
Seattle, WA Eastlake Zoo Tavern
Phoenix, AZ Half Moon Windy City Grill. A BCB reader wrote in and said the owner runs a meetup group!
Normal, Illinois Pub II