So, I was running the bases at Wrigley Field.....

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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OK, you could say this has been a good weekend for this Chicago sports junkie. I leave tomorow to go watch the Bears-Packers Monday Night Game in person at my alma mater, and I spent the afternoon yesterday in the most holy place in my world. I was on the field of the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. Yes, on the field, in the dugout, at homeplate, against the ivy. I’m telling you, if you’re not a baseball fan, this is like being in the Louvre after hours. Like feeling up Britney Spears in her dressing room. Like thumbing through the Vatican’s private library. Like climbing into the pilot seat of the shuttle Endeavor on Cape Canaveral. Jealous aren’t you? Oh and I had free beer to boot.

So here’s the story, my cuurent roomate used to live in an apartment a block or two from Wrigley about 3 years ago. This was the same time that the Tribune Company unveiled its plan to expand Wrigley Field. Any of you who live in the area probably know the story, but here’s the short version (seems long, but trust me). Across the street, outside the park behind the outfield bleachers I’m sure you’ve seen on TV all the rooftops with advertising and seating. What started as a quaint little quirk of the park for your average neighborhood resident quickly grew into a pretty substantial business. A bunch of rich guys bought up all these old brownstone threeflats, renovated or rebuilt them, and built up the rooftops into grandstands. They began advertising and selling the space to corporate events, large parties, bilboard advertising and various other money-making schemes. The Cubs owner, being a coporation with lawyers and stockholders decided that if there was money being made, they’d better be getting some or else it’d have to stop. Then began a bunch of posturing and negotiating and ugly battles in the media, ultimately culminating in the plan for a major expansion of the bleachers which would block the view of these rooftops. Then it quickly became a giant rich company battling a coalition of a bunch of slightly less rich guys. One of the tools the slightly less rich guys had was the historical significance of both Wrigley Field and the neighborhood as a whole. In order to wield this, they had to form a neighboorhood association. Alot of the finer points aren’t really worth describing, but there wasn’t exactly unanimous support of the rooftop building owners. So another guy in another part of the neighborhood arranged a coalition that supported the Cubs.

This is where my roomate comes in. He got on a mailing list for residents that supported the Cubs. While he wasn’t active he still read the developments and kept getting updates. Its been 2 years since he moved out of the neighborhood, but luckily he still gets the messages. Apparently, the Cubs organization, to thank these people for their support, invited everyone to an invitation only party in Wrigley this weekend plus one guest. This is where I come in :).

So, the party was from 11AM-1PM Saturday, free food from the Sheffield Grill (where the group parties are held during the season) and free beer and pop. They opened the field entirely, and we were pretty much allowed to have the run of the place. It was me and my roomate and about 40-50 other people.

We brought our gloves and a ball and a camera. Got some food and a few beers (one of which I spilled on myself), and proceeded to act like a complete dork for a solid 2 hours.

We played catch in the outfield, threw a bunch of grounders, and ran the bases like a 8 year old. Took pictures of us catching balls against the ivy, running the bases, drinking beer in the dugout, taking curtain calls, sliding into third, pitching in the bullpen and on the mound, and every other corny thing you can imagine. Talk about a great surreal experience, if you’re a baseball fan and haven’t seen the ball park from that perspective, you really must try it if you get the chance.

I’m gonna get the pictures developed, and hopefully a few come out cool, I’ll try and share them.

There are very few things cooler than drinking beer in the dugout, or laying flat on your back in center field looking up at the famous scoreboard.

If you’re wondering, I’m gonna be trying to weasel my way onto the field after MNF too.

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I almost wept reading this story. That is AWESOME, *Omniscient.

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You lucky bastard! You Lucky, Lucky bastard!!

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Liar. You pissed your pants out of sheer joy, and you know it.

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I will pay you $20 for the dirt from your shoes, my liege.

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What about the grass and ivy stains on my shirt? What about the ketchup stain?

Its funny, I was actually joking with my roomate about saving the dirt that gathered in my shoes when we got home.

One little nugget I forgot to mention, at the tail end of the day a guy was playing long tos from the third base position to the out field with his friend and on like his third throw threw his ball into the outfield basket. I kinda laughed at him, and then proceeded on my next throw to do the same goddamn thing with my ball. Luckily it was almost exactly as they started asking us to leave, so I didn’t waste any time. I see it as sacrificing a ball to the baseball gods, and karma states hat next season I am bound to catch a homerun.

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God. That’s cool.

I have been on the field of the Vet. But, bouncing against the Astroturf and running into the plastic wall isn’t nearly the same.

How long ago did the rich people turn the roofs into a business? I seem to remember watching games as a kid and the crowds they showed over on the roofs seemed just like neighborhood people.

In the dugout. On the field. Against the ivy. Just kill yourself, man, you have peaked and you know it.

pat

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Pat, the rooftops kinda went corporate gradually. Like you said, it was just neighborhood people, the people who lived in the buildings and a handful of their friends. A quaint and unique atmosphere. Then one guy sold out, or decided to invest a bunch of cash and turned his building into a billboard. Then another guy decided to keep up with the Joneses and he started selling seats in exchange for the view and food and beer. Then a guy built a little bleacher section. And so on down the line, until the city jumped in and made them get liquor licenses and bring it up to safety code. Now the Cubs want their bite. I’d say things really got bad in the late 80’s, slowly building between the '84 playoff run and the lights in '88 and the the playoffs in '89.

Pat, I’d have agreed that I’d peaked if the Monday Night game hadn’t sucked so horribly.

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My Grandfather played two games at Wrigley Field in 1941. I practically cried when I got the chance just to stand outside the place. I would kill for a chance like that. Congrats Dude!