Wrigley Never Felt So Good

Pretty cool experience this past week, even if most of it all took place in my head. I had an appointment to visit with a client. I knew she lived a couple of blocks from Wrigley Field so I decided that if I had time I would have to do a fly-by and check the old girl out (Wrigley, not my client).

I set my GPS for my client’s address and by luck, GPS decided the best way (certainly not the fastest) would be to exit I-90 at Addison. So I’m driving along and when I get on Addison the GPS said “turn left on Sheffield”. My keen baseball acumen kicked in. “Clark/Addison/Sheffield/Waveland”. Addison to Sheffield? I’m going to be turning AT WRIGLEY FIELD!!! No need to work in a fly-by, the satellite gods have programmed it for me!

I’m driving along Addison getting more and more excited in anticipation. All of a sudden, as if out of nowhere, there she is. Tall, beautiful and silent (off day for the Cubs). One second I’m driving past homes on a tree lined street and then all of sudden Wrigley Field – BAM! – appears. Now the memories come flooding back. All the times I took the ‘L’ from Forest Park; all the times I drove down with my family and parked on Irving Park Road (when you could still park on Irving Park Road) or parked in the lot run by the nuns.

Then I’m thinking how special Wrigley Field is and (stupid as it sounds) wanting to get out of the car, touch the walls and tell the passersby “THIS IS WRIGLEY FIELD! Let me tell you how special this place is.” Then it hits me, it’s special to everyone. No one has a unique experience of Wrigley Field and THAT’S what makes it such an amazing place. You saw your first baseball game at Wrigley as a child? I saw my first baseball game at Wrigley as a child. You saw an amazing game at Wrigley? I saw an amazing game at Wrigley. You had a drop-dead gorgeous woman wink at you in the 4^th inning? I had . . . uh, I saw a game at Wrigley. You could go into Murphy’s Bleachers or The Cubby Bear, sit at the bar and strike up a conversation with another Cubs fan and match them story for story about your experiences seeing the Cubs play at Wrigley.

I had to, had to, drive by, not just turning down Sheffield, but circling the park. Driving really slow and having a constant battle at looking at Wrigley, checking my rearview mirror to make sure I wasn’t holding up traffic and checking in front of me to make sure I wasn’t going to run over a pedestrian.

That brings me to something else. I’m driving by, slowly, lovingly and yet I see people walking along the walls of Wrigley, or jogging, or talking on cell phones. It’s all I can do to not jump out of my car and say “DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE? HOW CAN YOU NOT STOP IN AWE?”

I pulled out my cell phone and snapped shots of the marquee, the statue of Harry, the statue of Billy and the statue of Ernie and if I were more technology astute I would share them with you here. I turned down Waveland and parked next to the gates down the leftfield line so I could get an angled shot of the scoreboard. I’ve done that a few times over the years, not taken a picture but park by the gates and just stare at the scoreboard. I’ve done it in July, I’ve done it in February. Doesn’t matter the time of year, it’s an awesome view.

So I’ve just risked losing my Man Card by admitting that I get emotional driving past a building. But here’s where I regain my Man Card – because I know every one of you have done the same thing.