A Series of Firsts: My First Cubs Game

There is nothing like going to Wrigley Field with a couple of friends and a hot dog in hand. Or so I had been told. I had grown up with my mom trying to convince my sister and I to watch the World Series and get into baseball and root for the Pittsburgh Pirates and such (she was a huge ). But I really never acquired the taste for the sport. I had never been to a baseball game ever, and there really weren’t any ways that I could play baseball on my own back home. So, during my first year at Loyola, I chose not to go to a Cubs game, even while knowing that they had won the World Series a year before.

Don’t get me wrong: I like sports. It’s just I am not that kind of person to watch a full game in one sitting. Also, I barely know the rules of baseball, I still don’t understand what the 9 innings are, and I really have not had the time to look at Cubs tickets. But when a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to go to the Loyola Night Cubs game with her, I didn’t hesitate to say “Where do we get that cute cap they said we are getting?”.

To be honest, the game was an experience even before game night. I was so excited to finally be going to a baseball game (the irony) and couldn’t think of anything else but the game for days. I had already looked online for the different menus and knew what I wanted to order. And I told almost everyone I knew to come with me so that I could share this experience with others. I was making a show out of it. And I was right to be excited.

The moment we got off the Addison Red Line Stop, I couldn’t help but be contaged with the energy gloating in the air. Everyone was wearing their Cubs gear, having fun, enjoying their time with their friends. It was surreal, to say the least. When the First Pitch took place, I couldn’t believe that I was finally going to watch my first game. As the innings went by, the excitement started to bubble down, and it transformed into concentration. I started to get the idea of what the game rules were and I recognized that the Pirates weren’t that bad of a team. Yet, I still hoped for the Cubs to win, knowing that it would make my experience a little better. The fact that the game was a Loyola Night made it even more exciting. There were people all around wearing their Loyola Cubs cap, and we all sang along to Coach Moses singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” And when the Cubs finally won the game, we all cheered for the team and tried to get our caps signed by the players (and gracefully failed in our attempts).

Now, the Cubs’ chances to win this year’s World Series are null (Congrats to the Red Sox), but I am sure that when the season starts again, I’ll get someone to take me out to my second ball game.