Let's Go Cubbies! (Repeat and Clap)

Seeing a baseball game at Wrigley Field, it's a good item to put on your list of Things to Do Before You Die. Now we've done it.
Walking the cement ramps up to our seats made me reminiscent of our annual visits to Vets Stadium for Phillies games sponsored by Uncle Paul and Dad. Each year the game was picked according to the most desirable giveaway: Phillie Phanatic t-shirt, Phils backpack or baseball glove. Free Glove Day gave Dad the opportunity to be a hero in the eyes of his little, left-handed girl. For simple logistics they hand out righty gloves at every entrance and those in need of the opposite hand must take an additional trip to the entrance behind home plate to do a swap. Uncle Paul and Dad situated me, Juliet and our cousins in our seats, and Dad headed back into the swarming crowd for me. It seemed like an enormous journey in my 8 year old eyes, and I remember thinking how much Dad must love me to get me my glove. I waited, hoping no hits might come our way and I'd be caught gloveless.
These are the classic Americana moments that define a summer baseball game.
To increase the nostalgia, Monday night the Cubs faced the Phillies. Probably two teams with the poorest win records, but I figured as a Philadelphian living in Chicago, either way I could call it a victory. Indeed it looked grim for the "Cubbies," remaining scoreless for most of the game. I don't think I'd ever seen the Phillies make a sweep. We laughed at the Wrigley Field tradition of the fans chucking back the ball homered into the left field stands by the visiting team. A sign of disgust, and certainly not a worthwhile souvenir. But an electrifying 9th inning had fans on their feet cheering: the Cubs were suddenly trailing by a whisker, 6-5. Clapping, cheering, those Chicago fans turn it up.
Sadly, hope was quickly snuffed out with the third out. And we headed home on the El. But we coincidentally go back on Thursday. We had tickets for Thursday and invited our neighbors. They returned the favor by inviting us to the game on Monday.

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It's root, root, root for the Cubbies, if they don't win it's a shame, because it's one, two, three strikes you're out at the old ball game.