There’s nothing more American than baseball. It’s up there with donuts and aluminum. So, on an exploratory mission, and partly to pay homage to the legendary team, Ella and I headed to Addison station in north Chicago and entered Cubs territory for the first time. We enlisted the help of an old friend from way back when, Andy, who gave us a tour outside the grounds in the neighbourhood nicknamed Wrigleyville. (We mostly just hung out and caught up, but there was a lot of baseball talk too.)
The team goes way back to the 1870s and peaked in the early 1900s, winning back-to-back World Series in 1907 and 1908. They then went on one of the most epic dry spells of any team in the world. After 108 long years, the Cubs finally won the World Series again in 2016. Imagine the jubilation! Fans must have lost their minds. Plenty of fans must have been die-hard supporters their whole lives and never seen their favourite team win the big prize. But in baseball, as in life, patience is a virtue and it eventually rewarded Cubs fans like Andy. Another noted fan is Pearl Jam front-man Eddie Vedder, who wrote this song in 2007 about the Cubs one day winning the World Series:
So, why is the stadium called Wrigley Field? The Wrigley family, flowing in chewing-gum cash, purchased the team in the 1920s and owned it until 1981. It was then bought by the Chicago Tribune – every newspaper company needs a baseball team after all. During the 2008/2009 financial crisis, with the Tribune itself in trouble, the team was sold to the current owners the Ricketts family (founders of TD Ameritrade).
Ahead of the 7pm start, the Lake View neighbourhood around the stadium was buzzing from about midday onwards. Three-out-of-every-four people either had a Cubs’ jersey, cap, or some other form of support, and the excitement was palpable. Here’s the door at a Starbucks in the area:
Closer to game time, people started streaming into the stadium. In the picture above, the three flags to the left of the red board are of Illinois, Chicago, and the Cubs. The ones on the right are that of the opponent, which tonight was the Arizona Diamondbacks. Wrigley Field, and baseball more widely, has some interesting traditions. For example, certain great players of an era have their playing numbers (the number on the back of their shirt) permanently retired when they do. The Cubs have six such numbers, like Ernie Banks’ no. 14. Interestingly, all major league baseball teams have the number 42 retired as a sign of respect to Brooklyn Dodgers’ player Jackie Robinson, the first African American player to play in the major leagues. Another tradition at Wrigley Field that Andy pointed out was the practice of putting up a large “W” flag atop the scoreboard when the Cubs won and a large “L” flag when the team lost, which apparently dated back to the pre-radio era. We subsequently saw “W” flags all over the Midwest, a clear sign that a Cubs fan resides on the premises.
We got into the stadium a little early and had a look around. I was amazed by how much preparation went into the pitch. There must have been about 20 staff working for a solid 45 minutes on it. A chap who was trying to evenly spray water on the sandy area had five mates in tow to hold his hose. After finishing what seemed a painfully slow process, another chap came along and tossed a bunch of sand all over the masterpiece. There were people with brooms and paint and dusters and all sorts. The end result was fairly pristine though.
Another baseball tradition is that of the hotdog. And Chicago has their own special twist on the classic. Some Cubs fans showed Ella and I the ropes – a bun with seeds, a Vienna beef sausage, some relish (or pickles), fried onions, sliced tomato, a jalapeno pepper, and a splash of mustard. Ketchup is a no-no. Here’s the end result:
And then the action began. A baseball game itself is full of traditions. There’s the national anthem, a tribute to veterans, a few first pitches thrown by local celebrities and lucky prize winners, and all sorts of fanfare. My favourite was the 7th innings stretch – where, in the middle of the 7th innings, the whole stadium gets up on their feet and starts to stretch while singing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame”. The Cubs have a tradition of being led in song by someone famous.
The game itself was enthralling. Baseball seems to have a lot of the same elements that make cricket such a great game – a steady build of anticipation as the pitcher plays mind games with the batter (or vice versa) followed by a flurry of activity. There’s an even wider build of anticipation as the number of remaining innings decreases and the game marches steadily towards a finish. On the night, the Cubs had a great opportunity to square up the game in a late innings with bases loaded, but just didn’t manage to pull it off.
Wrigley Field has the nickname “the friendly confines”, the the crowd was certainly friendly that night. Despite losing, the atmosphere seemed a little solemn, but not angry. It helps that each team plays each other a number of times in a row, so the results of any one game usually isn’t the be all and end all.
After a fun day and an awesome evening of entertainment, we left the friendly confines with a better appreciation for “America’s pastime”. Go Cubs!