Posts tagged Cubs
Charlie's Dad
TIMELESS ADVICE FOR MY FIRST BORN
100 Places to See Before You Die - #4 Wrigley Field, U.S.A.
American landmarks are sometimes written off when it comes to compiling lists of places to see, and that’s a shame.
Although we are a young nation, we have some incredible places to visit. Wrigley Field is one of them.
Wrigley is almost 100 years old (over 100 by the time you read this), and still functions as it did the day it opened. It’s not a museum. It doesn’t market its historical significance. It just sells tickets to baseball games, just as it has since 1914.
Imagine if you could walk into Rome’s Colosseum and buy a ticket to a show. In an overdramatic way, that’s kind of how I feel when I walk into Wrigley Field. ;)
And although I’d love to tell you that Wrigley is the only place of its kind in America, the truth is there are a few.
So #4 will be dedicated to Wrigley Field, and all the other places in America that have stood the test of time. Places where you can experience “living history.” Where you can share an experience that generations upon generations have experienced before you. Those, Charlie, are definitely places worth visiting.
Here are a few to get you started:
Fenway Park - Boston, MA
Walnut Street Theatre - Philadelphia, PA
Saratoga Race Track - Saratoga Springs, NY
Tadich Grill - San Francisco, CA
Yuengling Brewery - Pottsville, PA
Harvard University - Cambridge, MA
Four Reasons Baseball is Better Than Any Other Sport
1 - Baseball is one of the only sports where the ball is not the center of the game. Football, basketball, soccer … you name it, they all spend an entire game moving a ball around. They fight over it, chase it, and protect it like cavemen. In baseball, on the other hand, the ball is merely the tool. It’s the tool the pitcher uses to retire batters, the tool the batters use to get on base, and the tool fielders use to get runners off base. The point is not to get the ball anywhere, but instead to just get home.
2 - Baseball players don’t showboat. A football or basketball player’s team can be down 20 points, and he’ll still celebrate when he does something good. As if he’s completely forgotten his team is losing. Baseball players rarely (if ever) do this. When a team is down, the players are humble. They do what they’re paid to do, and only celebrate when they bring the team ahead.
3 - It’s still the most multi-cultural sport in America, and spans the entire socio-economic spectrum.
4 - Baseball fans don’t lose their minds talking about and supporting their teams. Riots don’t ensue when their team wins the World Series. There are hardly any “Super Fans.” If you don’t like the Cubs, for example, your loss. ;)
Chances are you’ll be a Cubs fan, and I’m sorry for that.
As much as I want to tell you how great the Cubs are (they really aren’t as bad as people think they are), the truth is they haven’t won a world series in over 100 years … maybe longer by the time you read this.
I’ve seen fans cry when their team loses, but Cubs fans who cry actually wonder if they’ll die before they see their team go all the way. I remember as a kid, the first game of the season always had a guy holding a sign that read, “MAYBE NEXT YEAR.”
I can’t help it though. I love the Cubs, and I love Wrigley Field. I love it so much, I’ll bring you to games and make you believe they will one day be the greatest team in baseball. Hopefully I’ll also teach you to have a good sense of humor.
I’m going to spare you any further explanation about the Cubbies for now. You’ll have plenty of years of listening to me defend the North Siders ahead of you. Just remember this:
At the end of the season, it won’t be about winning the world series. It will be about you and me, a bag of roasted peanuts, and a seventh-inning duet of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” in the greatest ball park in the world.
