As a true baseball fanatic, for years I tried to plan a trip to Chicago to see the Cubs play at Wrigley. I never expected it would take until my 44th year to make it happen.
Being from Pittsburgh (and a Pirates season-ticket holder), I had hoped to see my beloved Pirates in Chicago, but for various reasons, I could never make it work.
Recently I had to go to Chicago for personal business. I looked at the schedule and confirmed that the Cubs were at home. I thought it would be a perfect chance to see Wrigley. Better yet I could bring my 8-year-old son, Chris, along, who has baseball in his DNA string.
Determined to sit in the bleachers to get the full effect, I purchased two tickets to the sold-out game on eBay. Chris and I took in the full experience outside of the stadium, and didn’t go into the park until shortly before game time. As I expected, our lackadaisical approach meant that there were no actual seats available once we got in.
It was a few minutes later that I truly began to fully understand the Wrigley experience. As we stood near the back of the left-field bleachers, my son struggling to see, a gentleman asked if we needed somewhere to sit. Of course I said, “Sure, that would be fantastic.” He walked us down to three rows off of the field, and made room enough for both my son and me to sit. As the game went on, we were given doughnuts to eat, and my son was even given a ball that one of the Cubs fans had caught during batting practice.
I think I forgot to mention that Chris was wearing a St. Louis Cardinals hat all day.
We have a wonderful ballpark in Pittsburgh, and good fans to go along with it. But I can honestly say that recent experience at Wrigley is one I will remember for a long time. The kindness and courtesy shown by my new friends in the bleachers is something that I haven’t seen in a long time. In some ways, it renewed my faith in humankind, and helped teach my son what being a true baseball fan is all about.
To Ken Keefer (hope I got the spelling right) and his friends in the left-field bleachers, thanks for making Saturday afternoon a day I will never forget. I hope I get to return the favor in Pittsburgh someday. And I definitely plan to see you next year in the bleachers!
