After the Chicago Cubs dispatched the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS, a friend of mine commented that we were now in an alternative universe. I had to correct him; the Cubs would need to reach the World Series for that to apply. As of now, there is still the possibility that the Cubs could just be pondering a more imaginative way than usual to break their fans hearts. I hope that isn’t the case.
A quick check on StubHub revealed ticket prices for this year’s NLCS to be just under $400 at minimum to be let into the park and have a place to sit, which is about three times what equivalent Giants tickets cost last year. This is not a surprise, but I can’t help but remember my first game at Wrigley back in 1982. Bleacher seats cost $2.50 and were readily available at the window on game day. The tickets were the tiny numbered kind that were printed on a roll and would not have looked out of place at a church raffle. Times have changed.
I don’t know if it’s the case today, but in past times a series against the New York Mets would have stirred the blood of Cub fans more than any other team than perhaps the recently vanquished Cardinals. I remember a quote on this matter from Bill Murray, one of the world’s most famous Cub fans, “I hate the Mets worse than Communism”
Speaking of Murray, it might be worthwhile to highlight a couple of his finer moments as a Cub fan, the first being his guest announcer gig in 1987 when Harry Caray was recovering from a stroke:
The other was the during the first night game at Wrigley Field. After Phil Bradley of the Philadelphia Phillies had just finished rounding the bases after a lead-off home run off of Cubs pitcher Rick Sutcliffe, you can hear Murray in the background yelling, “Turn them off! Turn off those damned lights!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgmrwwM4KR4
Jokes made at exactly the right moment are rare in real life, and they are truly to be savored.
