Another bucket list item checked off: a trip to see Wrigley Field two weeks ago courtesy of my wife and sons.
If you want to see the highlights of experiencing Chicago, the Wrigley tour, and our game nights, watch the video.
The rest of this blog will serve as an addendum to the video.
On our first night in Chicago, at Harry Caray’s restaurant, we met a family with Philadelphia area connections. The daughter was a DeSales graduate. We met someone who grew up in Northeast Philly, Terry’s old stomping grounds.
It was a pleasant experience interacting with Chicagoans, especially at Wrigley. The ushers in our sections were especially gregarious.
At the first game we attended, the usher gave us some insights into Wrigley, making sure to direct us to a booth under the stands where we could get our first-game certificates. And he handed out Phillies baseball cards to us. I got a Bruce Ruffin.
On the second night, since we were early and got to see the Phillies’ batting practice, the usher wasn’t very busy and chatted us up for a while. He’d been working games at Wrigley for years. Lives within walking distance. He had a plethora of venue experience telling us that he has worked about 30 Rolling Stones concerts and has been close enough to reach out and touch the musicians. He also told us a story of being the only one in attendance for a Bruce Springsteen rehearsal before that night’s concert.
Wrigley Field was as beautiful as advertised. Wrigleyville, outside the stadium, is a nice place to spend a lot of time. It was convenient to eat at Jack Brickhouse’s restaurant which was only about fifty yards from the Field.
There weren’t as many Philly fans in attendance as I thought there might be, but we always seemed to be around our fellow fans. We had a nice conversation with a fireman and his wife who lived about an hour away from Chicago. They were wearing Phillies’ gear.
At the second game, we sat behind a man who grew up in Lansdale. He was obviously in a mixed marriage: his young son had on a Harper shirt; his wife and daughter were wearing Cubs stuff. You can hear the man singing “root, root for the PHILLIES” during the 7th inning stretch portion of the video.
Too bad we didn’t see a Phillies win. Almost on Tuesday night.
A masterful job with the bullpen, Gabe.
The Q-View 