Up on the roof, specifically the one at 1032 Waveland Avenue, there was a lot to behold.
There was the lush green of the infield, the brown of the lightly moistened dirt, the sound of the organ.
But toward the left and at the bottom of the sightline to the field, there was the construction equipment that will become as familiar to fans at Wrigley Field this season as newcomers Jon Lester and Kris Bryant (coming in two weeks!): spools of wiring, metal spokes, orange barricades, piles of wood and ladders — so many ladders.
But those are nothing compared with the sight of the new video board in left field, which dominated the view every time you looked toward center field.
At 1032 Waveland, which is one of a few rooftops the Ricketts family recently purchased, the view of the field isn’t terribly obstructed. Fans won’t see a ball hit to the warning track in right-center field and they’ll have to look under the board to see the center fielder catch a deep fly, but the rest of the field is as clear as the images on the video board.
That isn’t to say all fans were thrilled with its presence.
“This is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” said North Side resident Lori Bruce, who has been coming to Cubs game since 1976. “It really looks like a sore thumb.”
That’s because the board’s backside is still showing. It looks like the unfinished backstage of a Broadway play. There are four horizontal sections, each about 101/2 feet high, that are lined with wooden planks, some of those ladders and wires. The metal back of the screen is visible.
One Cardinals fan joked with those around him: “Take a picture of that injustice.”
“I just don’t care for the way this looks,” said Bruce, speaking a sentiment shared by others on the rooftop. Others didn’t see it as a huge distraction.
“I’m just glad I bought a rooftop that isn’t blocked,” Dustin White said.
Those down the street at 1010 Waveland didn’t appear to be as lucky as those at 1032. The screen seemed to play a more prominent role in blocking the view and fans flocked to the center-field side of the rooftop to try and see around the board.
Everybody on the roofs had to put up with the jumbled sound, which was at a reasonable volume but didn’t have the best quality. The speakers on the board faced in and the sound that came out of them echoed through the park before coming back and reaching the rooftop, causing a slight delay.
But when the game started, none of that seemed to matter.
After the Cardinals scored in the first inning, Cubs fans joked that the season was a failure and the view was picturesque enough for the $164 ticket — even if it wasn’t entirely perfect.
Twitter @ChristopherHine
