Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2016)
14 Wednesday, November 16, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Commentary... A trip to Wrigleyville By Douglas Beall Correspondent At nine years old I became a real Cubs fan when I went to Wrigley Field with my 11-year-old next-door neighbor. His father was friends with the head ground- skeeper and we occasionally would receive free tickets. We caught the Chicago & Northwestern train for a 30-minute ride to downtown Chicago where we jumped on the Blue Line EL that dropped us off at the Addison Street stop for Wrigley. For the next six years we were regular visitors at Cubs games. Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, and Billy Williams were the stars of the team that was nicknamed the “lov- able losers.” Attendance in the ’50s and ’60s was often 5,000 to 10,000 so it was our practice to buy cheap seats — $1.25 — and after the fourth inning sneak down to the box seats by the Cubs dugout. Being a Cubs fan all these years has been a series of losing seasons and crush- ing disappointments in ’69, ’84 and 2003. I maintained my loyalty and had to toler- ate the almost constant sar- casm from my friends. My children became Cubs fans when we began traveling almost yearly to Chicago to visit Wrigley Field and also the Field Museum, Chicago Art Institute, and Museum of Science and Industry. On October 22 the Cubbies finally qualified for the World Series, and after 58 years of waiting it was on to Wrigleyville to celebrate with all of the other long- suffering Cubs fans. Enjoying Chicago begins with the warm camarade- rie and welcoming nature of the Midwest sports fans, and then the great food: deep-dish Chicago pizza, Italian beef sandwiches, and Vienna’s Chicago dogs. Hot or cold, I enjoyed them every day. On Friday, October 28, it was on to Wrigleyville to join thousands of Cubs fans to celebrate the first World Series in Chicago in 71 years. The Friday game did not go well; it was the first World Series game at Wrigley in 71 years and the players were a bit hyped up and swinging for the fences. Cubs lost 1-0 as I joined the throngs out- side the stadium and tried to remain positive. The cover charges at the taverns around Wrigley Field were $250 — and if you wanted to reserve a table it was $500 to $1,000 more. I decided to lean against the statues of Ernie and Harry for some relief and went back to the hotel after the fourth inning. Saturday I picked up my number-one Cubs fan J’aime at Midway Airport and pro- ceeded to Wrigley and a search for some reasonably priced tickets. My daughter has inherited the Chicago Cubs fan gene from me and would not miss this historic event. Tickets were being FALL LAWN CLEAN-UP! Shredder Vac MEATS • CHEESES EATERY • DRINKERY What will it be for Thanksgiving this year? HOUSE-SMOKED TURKEY? OLD-FASHIONED SMOKED HAM? Backpack Blower Lawn Sweeper RENT OR BUY! Order yours today! 110 S. Spruce St. 541-719-1186 Open Every Day 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Always a meat expert ! on duty 506 N. Pine St. 541-549-9631 Sales • Service Rentals • Accessories www.sistersrental.com scalped for $2,500 and way up — however we were hop- ing that there would be some game-day tickets sold at the box office. The game-day ticket line was two blocks long at 4 p.m. and home- less people occupied many of the first 200 spots in line. As the box office opened the scalpers were lobbing little bundles of $100 bills to the homeless to buy the two tick- ets that were allowed, and then as they left the office were paid $200 per ticket, and the scalpers then sold the tickets for thousands. American ingenuity and economics at work. Over 500 people did get tickets, and J’aime and I were hopeful that on Sunday, game-five tickets would be available if we got in line early enough. We enjoyed the crowds outside Wrigley before retiring to our hotel to watch another Cubs loss and the series stood 3-1 and there were thoughts of where was the nearest bridge for many Cubs fans. Sunday morning was cool and misty, and I discouraged J’aime from joining the ticket line; however that was not to be. She was a true Cubbies fan and would do her best for a chance to get in the park. When we arrived the line was a block long, so things looked good for attaining some tickets. Well, the line moved very slowly and as the 7 p.m. game time approached the box office closed and many of the homeless were PHOTO BY DOUGLAS BEALL The Cubs nation faithful celebrated across the globe. upset because they would not get anything for being in line for 10-12 hours. We would not see the Cubs play that night, but again rejoiced with the 20,000 fans around Wrigley and the tremendous crowd energy coming from inside the park. “Hey, Hey and Holy Cow — Cubs Win! Cubs Win!” On to Cleveland for game six. J’aime went back to work and I stayed to visit old friends and the Cubs won the two remaining games to clinch their first World Series championship in 108 years, and Chicago and Cubs fans celebrated all over the planet. The victory parade from Wrigley to Grant park was a peaceful celebratory gathering of 5 million Cubs souls, the largest party in the history of the United States. You may wonder why some baseball team can bring so much joy to millions of people. I cannot answer that question. However, my personal experience was enhanced by the remem- brance of my mother, and many of my deceased elders who taught me about base- ball. They were all in my heart as I celebrated with Cubs Nation.