Upon Further Review

My friend Rob and I wanted to drink in the experience of opening day, so the morning started at 7:15 a.m. with a nice 45 minute trip up the red line into Wrigleyville. Our first stop was at the Cubbie Bear to try to catch part of Mike and Mike, who are on a book tour with this stop taking them to Chicago. We arrived a little after 8 to catch new Cubs owner Tom Ricketts being interviewed by the Mikes. I will say that I'm pretty optimistic about the Ricketts family ownership, as I think it will provide better ownership than the corporate ownership of the last 25 years by the Tribune. Unfortunately, I was unable to get to Mr. Ricketts to inquire about a job prior to his departure. Following the show, I got to meet Golic and Greeny and get a book signed. Golic is a big fella, though P90X has the big guy looking pretty svelte.

Our next stop was the Salt & Pepper Diner to grab some breakfast. Though this doesn't appear to be a very noteworthy event, as we were leaving I casually mentioned that I had eaten at the Salt & Pepper diner two of the last three times I had gone to a game at Wrigley. Upon further thought, it turns out the two days I went to the S&P Diner they won, and the day I didn't they lost. The result of opening day, a victory. Will I be visiting the S&P Diner the next time I go to Wrigley Field? You betcha!

After breakfast we cruised around the park a little and ended up hopping in the line for the bleachers, which was already rather lengthy. The bleachers section is the one part of the park that is general admission, so upon the opening of the gates there is a made rush for the front of the bleachers in left field. Besides the booing of anyone wearing the attire of another baseball team, probably the most noteworthy thing that happened in the line was the sighting of a man wearing stilts that made him about seven-foot tall covered in ivy from head to toe with incredible hulk hands gloves, a green face, and 368 feet sign on his stomach. There was also a guy who came with various beer cans glued to his head - opening day brings out some interesting characters. As the gates opened the race for the front row began and baseball was ready to begin.

The bleacher bums were in midseason form as the taunting of opposing players.... and Alfonso Soriano began during batting practice. Multiple taunts were tossed at former Cub Jim Edmonds in regards to his status as an AARP member. All of the Brewers were of course booed during introductions (obviously the better the player, the louder the boo) and much of this would continue as the game progressed and the beer flowed. One of my favorite cheers is when the opposing bleachers would taunt the opposite bleachers (left field vs. right field), thus telling fellow Cubs fans that they suck... it was kind of a funny practice. The more I go to sporting events, the more I realize how unique the Nebraska fans at Memorial Stadium truly are. Nebraska fans represent great sportsmanship that cheer the other team and are in fact more likely to boo their own team/players than they are others. Very unique these days in sports at all levels.

As I mentioned, the beautiful day (65º in April in Chicago!) was made even more beautiful with a 9-5 victory over the Brewers. This was my 5th game in the last couple of seasons and the Cubs are 4-1 when I am in attendance. As I currently have nothing lined up after graduation, I'm thinking I need to make attending Cubs games a regular occurrence until I can convince the Cubs to pay me to attend game as a good luck charm. I think that truly would be my dream job. I should probably continue searching for jobs just in case this plan doesn't pan out.

Cheers!