Soxfanspcu11
07-02-2006, 05:45 AM
My friend and I were lucky enough to have tickets for the game yesterday (Saturday) and I must say that that game was not only one of the best games I have EVER seen, but one of the best experiences of my life!
Our tickets were in section 506, but we never actually sat in our seats. We spent the entire game standing in the lower concourse, against the fence, along the 3rd base line. The intensity level was so high that we just couldn't bring ourselves to actually sit down.
After the cubs took their 2-0 lead in the first, we were the targets of some incredible taunting. It was as if the cubs had just beaten us in game 7 of the World Series. My friend and I never responded to the insults thrown at us, we just wanted to watch the game. However, I can tell you that the things that some "fans" said to us were simply unbelievable! The tone was such that it seemed as if this game was the biggest and most important game that was ever played at wrigley. I have never seen so much desperation from "fans" in my life.
Around the 4th inning, my friend and I started talking to 2 cubs fans who were actually REAL fans. They knew their teams history, their new their stats, they knew their division, etc. All 4 of us were having a surprisingly good time talking baseball. However, our conversation was sporadically interupted by cubs fans telling us to "go to hell", "get out of our stadium" and "go back to the ghetto". The guys we were talking to were really cool though, they had our backs completely. They told those cub "fans" to show some class and watch the game. There was even a point when they nearly came to blows with some cub "fans" for their moronic behavior. Although our allegiances were completely different, it was very nice to talk to them about baseball, we had a great time talking about all things baseball. When the cubs scored or made a nice play, they would cheer, when the Sox did the same, we would cheer, it was all in good fun.
Fast forward to the 9th inning, the cub fans we were talking to decided that they were sick of standing and decided to move up to a row of the MANY seats that were now open. Honestly, as soon as the 9th started, I would say that there were AT LEAST about 10,000 scattered empty seats. The best thing about that though was of all the people who left, 99% were cubs fans, thinking the game was over or getting a quick jump over to the bars, or doing whatever it is cubs fans do, who knows.:rolleyes:
Fast forward even more, top 9, 2 outs, no one on base, 6-5 cubs. We are still standing in our original spot, the cubs fans are going nuts, plenty of true "fans" showing their incredible class by making sure we saw them flipping us off. Everyone is standing, all the Sox fans (and there were PLENTY) including me and my friend are just standing still, with this sort of quiet confidence. It really was amazing to see when you looked around, you had all these cub fans screaming, yelling, jumping around, and then you see the Sox fans, eyes glued to the field, watching every second. After Gload's single, all the Sox fans in our section gave a slight clap, comparable to a golf clap. It was almost as if we were all saying, "Okay, nice hit, nicely done, keep the line moving". The cub fans on the other hand were continuing their lovely behavior. The screams of, "It's just one ****ing hit!!!" "You guys are going down" and the like continued. I even heard some fratboy yell, "That's okay Ryan!, Set them up for the double play!!!" Again, as we all know, 2 outs.:?: You really can't make this stuff up if you tried.
So then Dye walks. During his AB, the cubs fans believed that EVERY single pitch thrown to him was a strike, but what do you expect? Again, all the Sox fans give the same confident golf-clap.
So AJ walks up to the plate, and the stadium has now turned into a Scottish soccer stadium, cub fans yelling, **** this and **** that, Sox fans yelling, "Come on AJ, make it hurt!" At this point, the cheering was now even, you could not tell who the home team was. The tension was so incredibly high, you could feel it running through your body. Us, and other Sox fans were yelling to AJ, "Come on baby, just a little base hit". And then...........it happened.
Watching the replays on the news afterwards, it was no doubt it was gone. However, seeing it live was a completely different story. When AJ made contact, you could see that the ball was popped, but everything happened in slow motion. There were so many thoughts running through my head, "Did he hit it too high?", "Will it stay fair?". Obviously, this all happened in a split second, but it seemed as if time had frozen. It was like watching the ball in super slow motion. I can not even begin to describe the INCREDIBLE RUSH that came over me when I saw the ball leave his bat, for about half a second or so, the place went DEAD quiet. cubs fans, Sox fans, we all stood there, completely transfixed on the ball. Another half second later and it was clear that the ball was going to leave the park. You guys, CAN NOT BELIEVE what it was like. Again, it seemed like everything was in slow motion. All I remember was jumping in the air, I swear I must have gotten about 4 feet up, I felt like I was floating, I thought my feet would never again touch the ground. As the ball disappeared into the right-field sky, I got one of, if not the best natural high EVER. It was comparable to Paulie's slam in the Series last year. The thing that made it different and unique though, was the fact that it was 50/50 Sox/cubs fans. I have NEVER in my life, experienced the emotions and energy that occurred in that stadium and that very moment.
This sounds stupid, but I didn't feel like I was alive. It was like an out of body experience, I could not believe what I was seeing. It's so incredibly hard to try and explain the emotions simply typing them out, but you guys, I'm telling you, it was something that I will NEVER EVER forget! I wish that every Sox fan could have been there to experience that moment. I was at Comiskey on Sunday when Iguchi hit the slam with 2 outs to tie Houston, and the place EXPLODED. If any of you guys were there that night, recall that feeling, and multiply it by 10, no joke.
As soon as it was completely obvious that the ball had left, wrigley just EXPLODED! The emotions that were coming out of everyone were so intense, it felt like the world was coming to an end. I can't even come close to explaining the feeling. I bear hugged my friend, there were 3 Sox fans to our right, a father, mother and about an 8 year old kid. We all had this incredible group hug. I had my hand around the kid and tears started pouring from his eyes while he was screaming, "Dad! Dad! Oh my God Oh my God!!!!" The dad's eyes began to get watery as well but he never actually let a tear go.
That moment, frozen in time is one of the greatest things I have EVER experienced. I thought about it afterward, that kid is going to pass that story on to his kids one day, and that story will never die.
After that, a larger group of about 6 or 7 Sox fans came over and hugged us, it was the most amazing experience. Here you have a group of about 12 people, who have NEVER met, embraced in this one unbelievably amazing moment. I thought I was going to pass out, I became so incredibly light-headed, none of it seemed real.
It's only now that I look back on it and realize how amazing it was. I know it may seem like I am over-embellishing. I know some people will read this and say, "Geez, it's just a game, settle down". But all things considered, the whole situation, the scenario, the fact that the Sox were as far against the wall as possible, the fact that we (Sox fans) were being taunted incredibly. All of that, everything, put together made for one of the most AMAZING experiences of my life!
GOD I LOVE THIS TEAM!
Our tickets were in section 506, but we never actually sat in our seats. We spent the entire game standing in the lower concourse, against the fence, along the 3rd base line. The intensity level was so high that we just couldn't bring ourselves to actually sit down.
After the cubs took their 2-0 lead in the first, we were the targets of some incredible taunting. It was as if the cubs had just beaten us in game 7 of the World Series. My friend and I never responded to the insults thrown at us, we just wanted to watch the game. However, I can tell you that the things that some "fans" said to us were simply unbelievable! The tone was such that it seemed as if this game was the biggest and most important game that was ever played at wrigley. I have never seen so much desperation from "fans" in my life.
Around the 4th inning, my friend and I started talking to 2 cubs fans who were actually REAL fans. They knew their teams history, their new their stats, they knew their division, etc. All 4 of us were having a surprisingly good time talking baseball. However, our conversation was sporadically interupted by cubs fans telling us to "go to hell", "get out of our stadium" and "go back to the ghetto". The guys we were talking to were really cool though, they had our backs completely. They told those cub "fans" to show some class and watch the game. There was even a point when they nearly came to blows with some cub "fans" for their moronic behavior. Although our allegiances were completely different, it was very nice to talk to them about baseball, we had a great time talking about all things baseball. When the cubs scored or made a nice play, they would cheer, when the Sox did the same, we would cheer, it was all in good fun.
Fast forward to the 9th inning, the cub fans we were talking to decided that they were sick of standing and decided to move up to a row of the MANY seats that were now open. Honestly, as soon as the 9th started, I would say that there were AT LEAST about 10,000 scattered empty seats. The best thing about that though was of all the people who left, 99% were cubs fans, thinking the game was over or getting a quick jump over to the bars, or doing whatever it is cubs fans do, who knows.:rolleyes:
Fast forward even more, top 9, 2 outs, no one on base, 6-5 cubs. We are still standing in our original spot, the cubs fans are going nuts, plenty of true "fans" showing their incredible class by making sure we saw them flipping us off. Everyone is standing, all the Sox fans (and there were PLENTY) including me and my friend are just standing still, with this sort of quiet confidence. It really was amazing to see when you looked around, you had all these cub fans screaming, yelling, jumping around, and then you see the Sox fans, eyes glued to the field, watching every second. After Gload's single, all the Sox fans in our section gave a slight clap, comparable to a golf clap. It was almost as if we were all saying, "Okay, nice hit, nicely done, keep the line moving". The cub fans on the other hand were continuing their lovely behavior. The screams of, "It's just one ****ing hit!!!" "You guys are going down" and the like continued. I even heard some fratboy yell, "That's okay Ryan!, Set them up for the double play!!!" Again, as we all know, 2 outs.:?: You really can't make this stuff up if you tried.
So then Dye walks. During his AB, the cubs fans believed that EVERY single pitch thrown to him was a strike, but what do you expect? Again, all the Sox fans give the same confident golf-clap.
So AJ walks up to the plate, and the stadium has now turned into a Scottish soccer stadium, cub fans yelling, **** this and **** that, Sox fans yelling, "Come on AJ, make it hurt!" At this point, the cheering was now even, you could not tell who the home team was. The tension was so incredibly high, you could feel it running through your body. Us, and other Sox fans were yelling to AJ, "Come on baby, just a little base hit". And then...........it happened.
Watching the replays on the news afterwards, it was no doubt it was gone. However, seeing it live was a completely different story. When AJ made contact, you could see that the ball was popped, but everything happened in slow motion. There were so many thoughts running through my head, "Did he hit it too high?", "Will it stay fair?". Obviously, this all happened in a split second, but it seemed as if time had frozen. It was like watching the ball in super slow motion. I can not even begin to describe the INCREDIBLE RUSH that came over me when I saw the ball leave his bat, for about half a second or so, the place went DEAD quiet. cubs fans, Sox fans, we all stood there, completely transfixed on the ball. Another half second later and it was clear that the ball was going to leave the park. You guys, CAN NOT BELIEVE what it was like. Again, it seemed like everything was in slow motion. All I remember was jumping in the air, I swear I must have gotten about 4 feet up, I felt like I was floating, I thought my feet would never again touch the ground. As the ball disappeared into the right-field sky, I got one of, if not the best natural high EVER. It was comparable to Paulie's slam in the Series last year. The thing that made it different and unique though, was the fact that it was 50/50 Sox/cubs fans. I have NEVER in my life, experienced the emotions and energy that occurred in that stadium and that very moment.
This sounds stupid, but I didn't feel like I was alive. It was like an out of body experience, I could not believe what I was seeing. It's so incredibly hard to try and explain the emotions simply typing them out, but you guys, I'm telling you, it was something that I will NEVER EVER forget! I wish that every Sox fan could have been there to experience that moment. I was at Comiskey on Sunday when Iguchi hit the slam with 2 outs to tie Houston, and the place EXPLODED. If any of you guys were there that night, recall that feeling, and multiply it by 10, no joke.
As soon as it was completely obvious that the ball had left, wrigley just EXPLODED! The emotions that were coming out of everyone were so intense, it felt like the world was coming to an end. I can't even come close to explaining the feeling. I bear hugged my friend, there were 3 Sox fans to our right, a father, mother and about an 8 year old kid. We all had this incredible group hug. I had my hand around the kid and tears started pouring from his eyes while he was screaming, "Dad! Dad! Oh my God Oh my God!!!!" The dad's eyes began to get watery as well but he never actually let a tear go.
That moment, frozen in time is one of the greatest things I have EVER experienced. I thought about it afterward, that kid is going to pass that story on to his kids one day, and that story will never die.
After that, a larger group of about 6 or 7 Sox fans came over and hugged us, it was the most amazing experience. Here you have a group of about 12 people, who have NEVER met, embraced in this one unbelievably amazing moment. I thought I was going to pass out, I became so incredibly light-headed, none of it seemed real.
It's only now that I look back on it and realize how amazing it was. I know it may seem like I am over-embellishing. I know some people will read this and say, "Geez, it's just a game, settle down". But all things considered, the whole situation, the scenario, the fact that the Sox were as far against the wall as possible, the fact that we (Sox fans) were being taunted incredibly. All of that, everything, put together made for one of the most AMAZING experiences of my life!
GOD I LOVE THIS TEAM!