Chicago, ChiTown, the Windy City, the 3rd largest city in America. After leaving Miller Park the night before, we decided to make the 2-hour drive down to Evanston, Illinois, just north of Chicago, where we had a two-night reservation. We didn't get checked in and in the bed until after midnight so we slept in a little that next morning. But not too long because we had tickets for a 1:15 game at Wrigley to see the Cubs take on our red hot Braves.
I was not very excited about trying to get around Chicago due to its large size. We had anticipated using the "El", or the train to make the trip to Wrigley and in fact, our hotel was conveniently located close to a train station. But just for curiosity's sake, I looked into what it might cost to get an Uber or a Lyft. I opened the app and found a ride from the front of our hotel to Waveland Avenue for 10 bucks! Score! We couldn't ride the train that cheap, much less have to deal with getting tickets and dealing with multiple stops. This was a no-brainer.
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| Harry Caray statue located at the corner of Waveland Avenue |
When looking to buy tickets for the game, we wanted to experience what it was like to be in the famous Bleachers of Wrigley Field, and to sit with the "Bleacher Bums". So when we arrived, we had to stand in line to be able to get seats in the bleachers as they were first come, first serve. We arrive at the ballpark at our customary two hours before the first pitch to get in line before the gates open. We were not first in line by any means. I had really been looking forward to this stop for a long time. I always tell people, when asked which is my favorite stadium that I have been to, that Fenway Park in Boston has been my favorite. And most people will ask, "well, have you been to Wrigley Field?" I would always have to say, "not yet". Well, now I would be able to give my best personal opinion. A little history here, Wrigley is the second oldest stadium in America, being built in 1914 (after Fenway Park built in 1912), and the people on the Northside LOVE their Cubs!
When we get through the gates, you can sense some of the nostalgia of yesteryear as you work your way up to the Bleacher section. And in the areas in the outfield, you do get that old ballpark feeling. The outfield bleachers do have the "old feeling" since it has the old flat benches with no backs for individual seats. We worked our way down to the front row and secured some seats right above the hallowed Ivy of Wrigley Field.
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| View of the Ivy from our front row seats |
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| The Iconic Manual Scoreboard of Wrigley and our fellow "Bleacher Bums" |
I was excited! We were at Wrigley Field and we were going to see our Atlanta Braves. It couldn't get any better than this. And then we started sweating! It was so hot in the bleachers under the blistering sun. But I was soaking it all in. Trey was really enjoying himself getting autographs before the game. This would be his best day ever getting signatures. In fact, he got 9 Braves autographs and had his picture made with the Braves' Manager Brian Snitker and Braves TV personality Paul Bryd.
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| Trey with Braves Manager Brian Snitker - "Put me in, Coach!" |
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| Trey "being interviewed" by Paul Byrd! |
The game started out very exciting for us and our fellow Braves fans in the Bleachers as Atlanta went ahead 6-1. But bullpen woes returned and the Cubs came back to go ahead and win the game. There was some excitement just a few feet away from us. When a home run was hit by one of the Cubs, some poor fan in his attempt to catch the ball missed it and got hit in the nose. I think it was broken as there was blood pouring everywhere and he had to be helped out of the stadium by medical staff. We were entertained by Cookie Monster who led the chorus of Take Me Out To the Ballgame during the 7th inning stretch. Another bittersweet moment took place in the 9th inning. Former Brave and All-Star Closer Craig Kimbrel made his Cubs debut that day after recently signing a free agent contract. He came in to try to shut down the Braves and get his first save. It was painful to see him in that Cubs uniform. The Braves, down by two runs, did get two guys on base and then Freddie Freeman grounded out to first to end the game with the score 9-7.
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| A couple of rowdy "Bleacher Bums"! |
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| Although the Braves lost, Trey had a great day at Wrigley |
The atmosphere in Chicago was great. Their fans really love their Cubs. We were set to tour Wrigley Field the next day and I would make my final determination about my favorite stadium after that. So even though the Braves lost, we had a really good time at Wrigley. After the game, we went outside the stadium for the picture by the iconic marquee at the front of Wrigley Field.
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| Kind of ironic posing for this with Braves shirts on. |
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Tate and Trey outside Wrigley Field
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Small world moment - Outside the stadium, we meet up with one of Trey's classmates/teammates, Will Price as he and his Dad, Trae, had come up to Chicago to watch the Braves and Cubs.
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Tate, Will, and Trey all supporting their Braves
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Wrigley was so impressive that the next day we would go back for a tour of Wrigley and then head down to a game on the Southside to see the White Sox
