(Randy's Perspective)
When I read, usually nothing turns me off quicker than sappy, highly sentimental, overdone tributes. So I’ll try to avoid that. But it won’t be easy here, because August 13 fulfilled a childhood dream. I made it to a game at Wrigley Field. And it was sentimental.
It’s as if I’ve watched the Cubs 10,000 times on television from that place – dating back, I hate to admit, to the late 1960’s - and every time I’ve loved those ivy-covered walls and the big manual scoreboard.
Regarding the scoreboard, it’s reminiscent of The Masters. Augusta National wouldn’t be the same without the big white, hand-changed scoreboards.
Speaking of watching the Cubs on television, as Penny and I walked up Sheffield Avenue before the game, heading from our nearby B&B to the stadium, I couldn’t help but think of the late Harry Carey … man, how much fun was he? I would watch games on WGN television in the early 90’s just to hear him say “next up is Jose Vizcaino.” Here’s a nice tribute to Mr. Carey from CNN: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyHAXZdp-NA
I saw a commercial one time that was dumbfoundingly good. And I can’t find it – even on YouTube. I only saw it once.
In the commercial Harry Carey was eating a hot dog while he was calling a game. I mean, he was stuffing his mouth while calling the play. The camera pans to the booth, just as Harry finishes his hot dog. He gets a horrified look on his face and says, in a deeply polished, high British accent, “Oh, my god, I’ve finished my hot dog.”
All of a sudden a production assistant runs into the shot and hands him another hot dog. He shoves it in his mouth and starts calling the game again – in typical Harry Carey voice, of course.
(Penny found a reference to the commercial. It was a 7-11 spot.)
*
Well, anyway, Wrigley and the evening were everything I hoped they would be. There was no letdown or anticlimax.
Let me start with the obvious. The ivy walls were magnificent. Better live than on tv. And the scoreboard was mesmerizing, with the big clock on top.
Before the game, Penny and I took a walk around the park so I could see the Sheffield and Waveland Avenue rooftops. Liked that, too.
The stadium itself is classic. I’d say that with all old stadiums, you have to fight a few bad sight-lines here and there, and Wrigley is no exception. I can even understand why Penny griped about her upper deck, top-row, rightfield line seats she and her friends had a few years ago. They were behind a support beam. So I get it – not great seats. To me, however, that’s like missing a beautiful sunset because you’re getting text messages. (You can’t let little things distract you from big things is the point.)
We also saw a good game. The Reds, needing a win to stay in the National League Central Pennant race, won 6-4 in 11 innings, even though the Cubs got three homers (Schierholtz, Navarro and Murphy).
And maybe it’s poetic justice (for a lifetime of watching the Cubs fall short) that it was a Cubs error – a ball that got between Donnie Murphy’s legs – that helped the Reds win.
There were lots of highlights to this evening at Wrigley Field. The best part of the night was the seventh-inning stretch. But here are some other noteworthy items:
As Penny mentioned in her entry, the scene around the stadium was lively, and the people were nice everywhere. One scene, however, was a tad bizarre. An old gentleman in a Cubs uniform with the name Ronnie WooWoo on the back of his jersey was having his picture made with anyone who would pose with him. Penny asked a guy selling programs, a friendly dude but no spring chicken himself, who the fellow in the uniform was. … The program seller said, “Ah, he’s just a panhandler. He used to hang around the White Sox, but they ran him off.”
Inside the stadium, we had terrific seats.First base line, midway between home and first base, halfway up in the lower deck. We sat in front of an engaging, lively, loud group of four young ladies that had, I believe, lived their entire lives in Chicago. One of them was at her 20th game of the year.
Between innings, we asked one of the group if she would mind taking our picture.
Here’s the conversation:
Penny: Would you mind taking our picture?
Young Lady: Oh, hell, I’d LOVE to take your picture!
Penny: Can you make us look good?
Young Lady: You look fabulous! And I will CAPTURE it.
Penny: Wait, I have to take off this jacket. I’m wearing jeans, and this jacket is denim. My daughter will kill me if she sees me in a picture wearing a denim jacket with denim pants.
Young Lady: Oh yes, I understand. … We call that a Canadian Tuxedo!
It was pretty cool before the game to see Ernie Banks, aka “Mr. Cub.” Banks, who is now 82, was being honored as a recent recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I thought it was great because when I was a kid, I was big fan of Ernie Banks. Those were the days when you woke up in the morning and looked in the newspaper for box scores, to see the full report of the game. It seemed Ernie Banks was always hitting homers, but the Cubs could never win a pennant.
Penny always thinks it’s possible that we’ll catch a foul ball. And, well yes, it is possible. We came relatively close on this night. Perilously close, I should say. I don’t remember who the batter was, but he foul tipped about a 95 mph fastball, and that sucker came rocketing into our section. The sad part is that it clipped a young boy, apparently right before or after it ricocheted hard against an empty seat. The kid was ok, but the scene required an EMT before all was declared good. Sometimes the good seats are not for the faint of heart.
After the friendly gals behind us took our picture, Penny asked the girls if the Cubs have a mascot. One of them said, “Well, no, not exactly. We have the jazz band that plays around the park. But our biggest thing is “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”
And indeed, it is the biggest thing. … Without a doubt, the Wrigley Field seventh-inning stretch is coolest thing to date that I’ve seen on our baseball parks tour. I would imagine the playing and singing of “Take Me Out…” goes way back. But whatever tradition was there, in 1981 Harry Carey took up about 10 notches. He started a new tradition. Every home game, until his death in 1998, included Harry Carey leading the crowd, from his perch in the WGN booth, in the singing of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” It starts: “One! … Two! … Three!” and then the song begins.
After Harry died, the Cubs continued the tradition, with guest “singers/conductors” leading the crowd in the song.
But Harry Carey made it an institution. It is still going strong. This outstanding clip says it much better than I do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKWWeQxbjck
During the seventh inning of our game at Wrigley, Mike and Mike, ESPN’s morning duo of Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg, led the crowd.
And they sang. Everyone sang. And they sang with gusto. It was damned magnificent.
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