Chicago Cubs

A Lovely Day at Wrigley, Spoiled

Saturday September 7^th, 2024 the Chicago Cubs vs. the New York Yankees and it is a lovely day. Well mostly. My daughter Lydia, and her spouse Tom, have taken Elaine and me to the game. So many good memories at Wrigley.

A favorite Cub player is on the field at first base. It’s Anthony Rizzo. But wait, he’s in a Yankee uniform! Whoops. That 2016 World Series champion team (Contreras, Lester, Bryant, Fowler, Pena, Ross, Russell, Baez, Hendricks, Schwarber, Szczur, Almora, and more) have all been blown away to other teams – or retirement. That team was dispersed, suffering with a bad case of the “Ricketts” (family team owners). Okay, I know things didn’t go so well in 2017 when many of these champs were still in Chicago. Still, the Cubs are the Cubs. Why pass over a foolish trade when it is available?

Among the over 40,200 in attendance are Kerry Wood and Rick Sudcliffe! They were keepers, good to see on the big screen. When Rizzo comes to bat for the first time there is a prolonged ovation. NICE. Still, it is a bit unnerving to realize that many, maybe half of the crowd standing and cheering are wearing Yankees gear. Rizzo tips his hat several times. Nice – but so many Yankee fans?

One reason is because of another Yankee player, a little fella named Aaron Judge. He is a giant among other players, at a muscle bound 6’7”. His .321 batting average and 51 home runs also dwarf others. So, Yankee fans have come to see JUDGE and rizzo. I am prepared not to like Aaron Judge despite hearing all the stories speaking of him as a genuinely good guy. On the field and with the crowd he displays this good spirit and warm demeanor. I soften in my judgements about Judge. He is a nice guy.

In the sixth inning, Judge is walked. There are a series of other events I choose not to remember – a hit, stolen bases, and then a long fly ball to center field. The inning is ending! But no. The ball falls from the glove of a not to be named Cub and the Yankees take a 1-0 lead. The Yankee who hit that long fly, that should have been caught? You have already guessed. It was Antony Rizzo!

Is this what spoiled my otherwise wonderful afternoon at Wrigley? Well, no, I have suffered worse. (Insert your worst memory here.) In the fourth inning the four Yankee fans directly in front of us return from the concession stand. Like Aaron Judge, they seem nicer people than one would otherwise expect from Big Apple supporters. What spoiled it all was the desecration these Yankee fans brought on to Wrigley field. There they were with hotdogs (not even brats) and covering each of the dogs was, yes… it is tragic… large dollops of ketchup! Any respectable fan at Wrigley knows this is in bad form.

It is such inconsiderate etiquette! Ketchup at Wrigley? It is like me trying to speak French in a French restaurant or mentioning the Northern Illinois football win over the Irish on Saturday in South Bend. Just bad, inconsiderate form among decent folks

The game ended with the Yankees winning 2-0. There was some redemption. Cubs beat the Yankees the next day to prevent a sweep by a score of 2-1! Still, the image of ketchup on a hotdog at Wrigley can spoil a summer.

Chicago Cubs Vs. Cleveland’s Indigenous Peoples Demeaning Mascot

Okay, so that we are clear, I am a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan. There was a time when as a preadolescent I had a brief fling with the Cincinnati Reds and, I confess, I admired the St. Louis Cardinals for a brief period, but it was always, first and foremost, the CUBS! So you can imagine how marvelous it was to sit with my daughter at game five of this year’s world series with Cleveland and see my beloved team win a world series game there for the first time in seventy-eight years!

It was magical — nerve-wracking but magical. After the Cubs had a great year (the best in baseball with 103 wins) they are struggling against that Cleveland team. The Cubs are up against some extraordinary pitching, especially from a guy named Miller who is the best closer I have seen in, well, forever.

I will not mention the name of the Cleveland team because… well… because of… this:

Come on Cleveland, time to clean up this image of your mascot. I have often defended you as a fine city. You are not “a mistake by the lake.” In recent visits I have marveled at the vibrancy that has come to your downtown and the renewal taking place in many neighborhoods. You have had some good political leaders and some not so good (Stokes, Kucinich, Voinovich, Campbell, Jackson). I won’t mention which I think were the good ones. You have many fine educational and cultural institutions. Of course, there is also the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

I admit to being a Chicago partisan in this World Series but just a few months ago I was pulling for the Cavs to surprise everyone and come back from a 3 to 1 deficit to become the world champions in the NBA. THEY DID! So, now, a few hours before game six, I will be pulling for a similar comeback, this time for my dear Cubbies. I am pulling for the Cubs to beat the team I shall call the Cleveland Indigenous Peoples Impersonators.

Is the Chief Wahoo image racist? Of course it is! Don’t pretend differently. Ask the people who have the most right to be offended. The National Congress of American Indians published a poster recently that covers the situation all too well. Just imagine:

Anything more need to be said?

So, win or lose, Cleveland friends, please clean up this racist name and image. It’s an important step. Go to the website of the National Congress of American Indians to learn more (National Congress of American Indians).

Oh yes, and those of you NFL fans of a certain football team in Washington D.C. known as the R*dskins — you too can join in the fun of eliminating such demeaning symbols.

These may appear to some to be small matters; not significant. Some may say I am being “politically correct.” Others may say I should focus on matters of more substance like the Sioux Nation’s efforts to protect land and tribal rights at Standing Rock in North Dakota. I get that and I also think this is all a part of the same package — names of mascots, environmental threats, and small bigotries are all a reflection of our nation’s sinful acts against the First Peoples and our continuing discriminations. It is our enduring embarrassment and, yes, it will require more than just changing a mascot’s name.

As I write, game six of the Series is only a couple of hours away. So, Go Cubs, Beat the Cleveland Indigenous Peoples Impersonators!