Growing up, I remember watching the Chicago Cubs on TV with my dad all the time. Hearing Harry Carey and Steve Stone call the games and seeing all the classic Cub players such as Ryne Sandberg and Andre Dawson was so much fun. Baseball seemed to mean more back in my youth. It could of been because I was young and dumb, or it could be, players are making millions of dollars now and it just doesn't have that same feeling. It's become more of a business, than a sport.
Now living in Des Moines, Iowa we are home to the Triple A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, the Iowa Cubs. So growing up I was able to go to many Iowa Cubs games with my dad. I even got to play at Sec Taylor Stadium (now Principal Park, where the Iowa Cubs play) while in high school. That was so cool. As a high schooler playing there made you feel like a professional athlete.
My dad and I never did get a chance to go to a Chicago Cubs game together. We didn't have a lot of money growing up and we always had talked about we would go one day. Fast forward to when I was 19 my father passed away. The chance was gone.
After my father had passed, my siblings and I headed to Wrigley Field for the first time with my father's ashes. The goal was to spread his ashes on Wrigley Field. Which I know sounds like it's not a good idea, but the Cubs were his favorite team. He watched them all the time. We had to do it!
I remember the game finally getting over. Was this the chance we could run over to the outfield wall and dump the ashes? I remember I was too scared to do it. Finally one of my sisters took the ashes over and dumped them on the field. My dad would forever be at Wrigley Field. Plus, the good news was no one even seemed to notice or care. So maybe this happened more than I thought?
A couple of years ago I finally got a second chance to go back and visit Wrigley Field with two of my nephews and by brother-in-law. Going back as an adult, and getting to enjoy the ballpark once again was amazing. The cool thing about Wrigley Field is it's in the middle of a neighborhood basically. It feels like a neighborhood team. Some of the new stadiums and fields you go to are in the middle of nowhere with huge parking lots and nothing around them. Not Wrigley. You get an awesome experience.
While, I may not be a big baseball fan anymore, I will never so no to a chance to go to Wrigley Field. If you get a chance, even if you don't have a connection like mine, take it! And if you do have someone special to go with, take the chance now! You never know if you will have a chance tomorrow.
By the way: There is nothing more memorable in baseball then the Chicago Cubs 7th inning stretch. Made popular by Harry Carey singing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" and it still continues on.
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