"Not in my house!"
Tim Ellsworth thought it would be fun to bring a Cubs fan to the Cubs-Cardinals game to see if I would inflict wounds on my person following a shaming by the Cardinals. Little did he know that he was about to experience a beat-down by a team on an 8 game losing streak.
The day started with more concerns than plans. I woke up to rain and drove
2 hours through rain on my way to Wrigley. Before leaving the house Tim called telling me his cell phone was dead and he was taking the subway to get it replaced. Since he had my ticket and the cell was the means to connecting at the park, I was beginning to wonder if the game was being sabotaged by a sovereign God.
Though the cell phone situation got fixed, the concerns kept coming. First, I can't find a place to park for less than $30 bucks. Then I get a call from my Dad telling me he
and my Mom are at the game. Now, that's great news because I love my parents. But he is a die-hard Cubs fan who is a known jinx. This couldn't be a good omen.
I arrived at Wrigley. Then, just a bit before game time, the rain starts coming down again and the game is delayed 1 1/2 hours. What else could go wrong? Well, Tim got a free bag of Swedish Fish at the gate, and I didn't. What a disastrous beginning of the Cubs-Cardinals game.
Finally the clouds pushed on and the game got underway. Could things be looking up? Nope. It only took a few pitches from Greg Maddux to allow Albert Pujols to launch a two run homer to start the game. The Cubs are
well-known for getting behind early and staying behind, so I was less than optimistic. I figured I wasn't even going to get one inning of fun before I felt like the game was over.
But the Cubs then proceeded to score in nearly every inning of the game, 
including two dingers by Derrek Lee (whose number and name were on the back of my Cubs T-shirt). Both of his hr's left the park onto Waveland Ave. Also, after a couple of innings my parents called and said they had some open seats near them which were in a great location down past third base.
It was a sound 11-4 stomping of the first place Cardinals by the Cubs, and I
was glad to be a part of it. I made sure I announced to whoever would listen that Tim was a Cards fan, and he didn't get much sympathy. He did get his hair rubbed by a drunk beautician though, and experienced some good music.
As it turned out, the weather was great, the Cubs won, the company was perfect (I got to watch a huge Cards fan get smoked by his sworn enemy), and I loved every minute of it, including the horrible traffic home. Tim, you can take me out to the ballgame anytime.
