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August 16, 2004
Riding Around America: Baseball at Wrigley Field
After checking the Cubs schedule yesterday morning and realizing that I would have to see them that afternoon before they hit the road, I got on the red line train and headed north to Wrigleyville. I knew from the website that tickets had been sold out long ago so my only hope was to purchase a ticket outside the field before the game. I arrived at Wrigley at noon, which would give me over an hour to buy a ticket. No problem, I figured.
One hour later I was still without a ticket. I had walked around the stadium half a dozen times and walked down some of the side streets. The cheapest ticket I had found was about $80. The problem with buying tickets for an event in Illinois is that it’s one of the few states that allows ticket “brokers” to resell tickets significantly above face value. I discovered this a few years ago when I was attempting to purchase tickets to the final Smashing Pumpkins concerts.
So I continued looking for a ticket. At 1:20 the game began and I was still outside. Brokers had dropped their prices a few dollars but it was still more than I wanted to pay. A few of the unlicensed ticket sellers had pulled me aside wanting to negotiate. At this point, they were willing to sell tickets for $40 but it was the fourth inning and the game had been going for a full hour. I knew the Cubs had scored a couple of runs due to the roar of the crowd. I started to think that I should probably give up and leave.
I was literally walking down the street towards the El to go back downtown when a guy came up to me and asked if I needed one ticket. He showed me the ticket and said he wanted $40. I talked him down to $30, then $25. I made my final offer: $20. He started to walk away but his partner in crime eventually convinced him to give me the ticket for $20. He wasn’t too happy but I slipped him the twenty and he gave up the ticket. I was in!
I rushed up to the gate, handed over the ticket and walked into 90 year old Wrigley Field. It took me awhile to get my bearings but I eventually started upstairs to the upper deck. I had no idea if the seat was any good and I really didn’t care; I just wanted to see this place before the game ended. I walked up a bunch of ramps, stopped quick to buy a cold beer to celebrate my good fortune, and walked out into the stands along the right field line.
My first impression of Wrigley? It’s tiny! I knew immediately why it’s known as the “friendly confines”. I looked around in amazement for a few minutes and then asked an usher for directions to my seat. Section numbers are on small, unobtrusive signs but I eventually found my section and started hiking up the stairs to row nine. I got to the top of the steps and there was row nine with a chain link fence behind the seats and the Chicago skyline beyond. I found my seat, sat down, and took my first long look at the field.
I must have sat there with my mouth open for several minutes. Although I was in the last row, I was very close to the field. I was sitting in the upper deck but the players didn’t look like ants. From what I could tell, every seat in the place is good. Another great thing about Wrigley is that it actually feels old. Old wooden beams hold up the roof, which is also wood. The wall around the field itself is red brick. Ivy covers the outfield walls. The main scoreboard in center field is hand operated. Every so often you see a number on the board disappear and someone in a red shirt puts up the new one. There are only three small electronic scoreboards in the entire place. There is no Jumbotron. Beyond the ballpark, rooftops are crowded as people watch the game from their homes. The field is actually uneven in places.
As I watched the game I came to the realization that baseball really is timeless. By looking at the field and watching the game it felt like it could have been 1914. There is very little that has changed at Wrigley and that’s why watching the game there was so incredible. The ticket I bought was worth every penny.
In the end the Cubs lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers and the cold wind coming through the chain link fence behind chilled all of us in the top row to the bone - but that was secondary. For me, just being inside the ballpark and seeing the game was most important.
After the game I walked around the stadium. The ushers were in no hurry and they let me walk down to first row, right next to the field. The stadium is so intimate that I was only a few dozen feet away from home plate. The low brick wall in foul territory was barely taller than my knees. Fans lucky enough to sit that close could have a conversation with the player in the on-deck circle and look right into the dugout. I can only imagine what it must be like to sit that close and what those tickets must cost.
I filled my camera with photos and left the ballpark, walking out under the sign that simply reads:
Wrigley Field
home of
Chicago Cubs
Short, simple and too the point. Like baseball is meant to be.
Posted on August 16, 2004 at 11:00 AM