On Wednesday, I took the day off work to eagerly chaperone my son’s safety patrol field trip to Wrigley Field for some Cubs/Rockies action. This was our 5th and 6th graders’ reward for a year of showing up early and staying late after school, keeping their grades up, and staying out of trouble while keeping things safe for their classmates coming and going from school. The weather was threatening and the forecast was calling for rain, so our lead faculty member called Wrigley Field five times before departing to confirm that the game was on. “Come on out” was the response each time.
But when we arrived with 100 children, teachers, and parents 40 minutes before the scheduled first pitch, there was no rain, yet the tarp was covering the infield, and not a single ball player was warming up. No coaches and no equipment were in sight. In all my years of attending major league baseball, mostly at Wrigley as a Cubs fan, I had never seen this. The lineup was announced 10 minutes before game time, but still there were no players and no coaches, despite no rain. At game time, it was announced that “play was delayed due to rain in the area.” All of us puzzled chaperones whipped out our devices to check the weather, which showed Wrigley on the very northern tip of a green splotch of rain. To Cub management’s credit, it did eventually rain for a bit, but then it stopped, and then it was announced 90 minutes after game time that play was cancelled and rescheduled for late June.
So like many other school groups and Cubs fans that had arrived early, paid for parking, bought snacks, drinks, and souvenirs, we waited out the mass exodus, loaded our busses, and drove home in overcast, but completely pleasant, calm, and dry weather. Clearly, the game could have and should have been played. As we drove, I wondered when this game was actually cancelled. My best guess is probably long before we even loaded the busses in the western suburbs; and most likely well before your paid ticket holders purchased parking, drinks, food, and souvenirs at a ballpark with no baseball. Why else wasn’t a single player on the field practicing and getting ready for the two hours before cancellation?
Did we get angry? No, because we are role models for our children. Did we get annoyed? Absolutely, very much so, just as we Cubs fans often do with the product on the field. When you can do better by your fans, you should. When you can stay at work a little longer to give your customers the product they came for, you should, just as our safety patrollers do all year long. Let’s play ball, Cubs!
— Tom Scotty, La Grange Park
