Hey, hey getaway

By Nader Ihmoud

Lane Tech graduate

Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, is also home to many traditions. Some traditions tend to drive baseball fans from all around the country to spend a day at the ballpark.

These traditions include the seventh-inning stretch, tossing back opposing players’ home run balls and the “go-Cubs-go” song, which is sung at the end of each Cubs victory.

Not all fans are Cubs diehards; some flock to Wrigley to support their own home teams.

Julie Burke, 30, and Jerry Burke, 33, attended the Cubs vs. Cardinals game, July 25, in the right-center field bleachers. The two, originally from Buffalo, N.Y., attend a Cubs vs. Cardinals game at Wrigley once a year.

“I love coming to Wrigley for the passion and the energy that is displayed by the fans”, said Jerry.

Mark McCreary, a friend of the Burkes, attended the Cubs home game for the first time.

“So far my favorite Cubs tradition would be the beer drinking,” said McCreary, “but I can’t stand that annoying Cubs song at the end of the game.”

Beer drinking is a heavy tradition for “bleacher bums“-- fans who sit in the bleachers. In this section, fans that plan to drink are given a wristband, which is not done in any other section of the park.

Oftentimes, the bleachers are described as a “frat house.”

”It’s a party out here,” said Burke, “[the fans] are younger and rowdier out here.”

However, the other sections of the park have a different vibe.

Any where else in the ballpark is more of a family atmosphere,” said Denton Nauardue. He attends 15-20 games a year, and his favorite Cubs tradition is tossing back the opposing teams home runs, which fans of opposing teams usually find offensive.

“I don’t like it. It’s disrespectful and there is no class to it,” said Burke.

However, Cubs fans find not tossing back a home run ball to be even more offensive. In Sunday night’s game, Cardinals player Albert Pujols hit a game tying home run, which was followed by constant “throw it back” chants.

The fan who caught the ball happened to be a Cardinals fan who refused to toss the ball back onto the field. At the end of each inning, the chants continued to roar. In the later innings, it became intense. A fight broke out in that section of the bleachers between Cubs fans and the Cardinal fan.

Surprisingly, fights in the bleachers are becoming a tradition at Wrigley.

When contacted, Kevin Saghy, Cubs public relations and marketing specialist, did not have a comment.

“I’ve seen many fights in the bleachers,” said Andrea Gitz, a Cubs fan who attends games as often as possible.

A tradition that both Cubs and opposing fans seem to enjoy is the seventh-inning stretch. Usually celebrities who are at the game sing the song started by Harry Caray. This tradition started when he died in 1998.

That night, head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Brian Kelly, sang the seventh inning stretch.

Most fans end up at Wrigley for the atmosphere and the traditions, but sometimes they are left viewing more than they bargained for at the games.

Fans say they have seen drunken women flashing at the games. At Sunday night’s game, there were fans celebrating a bachelorette party in the bleachers. The woman celebrating her upcoming marriage was dressed as a princess.

“I’ve never seen anyone dressed as a princess at a Cubs game before,” said McCreary.

Going to a game at Wrigley, a fan may risk seeing a brawl or getting into one, be a witness to drunken behavior and people in various stages of undress, but most would agree it is worth the risk.

“There is nothing like a game at Wrigley,” said Burke.