Trip to Wrigley Field: June 19th 2009

By: Chris

Just a few days ago, I returned to Philly after having visited Chicago for a few days. While I was there, I visited Wrigley Field, considered by many to be baseball's mecca. The game was great, as the Cubs were down 7-2 going into the 8th, coming back to make it 7-6 entering the 9th. Then came Kerry Wood (another player from last year returning to Wrigley, along with the very-well loved Mark DeRosa, who got a standing O) to try and close it out. Derek Lee had something else in mind and smacked his second homerun of the game off Wood to send it to extras. Kevin Gregg took care of business in the top half of the 10th, and the game ended on a Theriot single to score Soriano to win the game. Here are a few pics taken at the beginning of the game...

Wrigley's famous rooftop seats across the street

Matt Forte (Chicago Bears Running Back) throwing out the first pitch. The fans went absolutely nuts when he came on the field!

View from the seats. They were pretty sick (Row 3). Some people were talking with the players (one Cubs fan was begging Victor Martinez to come to Chicago once he is a free agent in 2010, obviously frustrated with Soto's performance)

Alfonso Soriano at the plate. I love his batting stance and overall preparation (minus the fact that when he was on-deck he was posing for pictures for the fans, occasionally flashing a peace sign) Still a funny, yet a little cocky guy.

The Wrigley Field scoreboard which is all manual and only features one video board in the whole stadium right below it, displaying the "Welcome to Wrigley Field" message. There was no jumbotron or big screen at all, so replays were never seen inside the stadium. Very different experience compared to the high-tech and new Citizens Bank Park.

Overall, it was a great trip, great game, great stadium. The food was good too, and the fans were fun as well. (A lot better than expected, from what I have heard about Cubs fans)! Also, as a Red Sox fan, I can definitely feel their pain about the championship drought and curse. If the Cubs ever make it to the World Series (without the Red Sox facing them) I will definitely be rooting for the Cubs!