WHAT I LEARNED FROM WRIGLEY

I know we're in Cincinnati, but I have a story to tell. Last weekend I was fortunate enough to go to historic Wrigley Field with my dad to see the first two games of the three game set between our Yankees and the Chicago Cubs. The Yanks lost the first game, but rebounded to win the next two. It was a real treat to attend at such a historic ballpark.

At the game, we sat in section 213. For those who don't know where that is, it's in the first tier of seats under the shade, which was nice since it was hot and pretty humid. But, what I found interesting was how the crowd reacted, at least in my section of seats for both of the games. They seemed pretty subdued for most part during my time there. Whenever someone came up to the plate, including a Cubs player, they didn't really cheer or boo that much, which is very odd. Whenever a Yankee came up, from megastar Alex Rodriguez, to youngster Eduardo Nunez, I cheered. I am a Yankee fan after all. It seems to me that Cubs fans in Wrigley are getting fed up with their Cubs 102 year drought of championships and maybe that was the reason for the mellowness.

What I found baffling was some of the fans in my section didn't really know their stuff. Look, here at BYB, we know all about the game and players, especially our players. I don't expect them to be like us, but at least know the basics of the game. In the first game of the series, Doug Davis was pitching a gem. It was the 7th inning, and it was 3-0 Cubs and these Cub fans behind me kept wondering who was pitching for their team. They also didn't know who was pitching for the Yankees; it was Freddy Garcia by the way. That's really bizarre in my mind, considering they were clapping for every Cub hit and run scoring play.

Now, in fairness, I know there are certain Cubs fans that know their stuff. I am in no way suggesting that ALL Cubs fans don't know their team and don't know baseball, I'm just saying the few I was with were clueless. There were even some people around me talking and one lady said:"The only player I recognize on the Yankees is A-Rod, because when I was in New York we sat real close to third base and we could see his eyes." Hilarious.

Another interesting observation was the fans really seemed to get along, both Yankees and Cubs fans alike, which was nice. Maybe that's what the Chicago definition of a "baseball town" is. Fans just hanging together enjoying company at the ballpark.

In that first game, the Yankees were trying to mount a rally. In the eighth, they were finally able to get on the board against Doug Davis. The Yanks had a man on for A-Rod and the Cubs went to their closer, Carlos Marmol, to get the final out of the inning. And what I found funny was when Teixeira hit in the Yankees lone run, Chicago fans got nervous in my area. Then Alex struck out and they suddenly they were better. The Cubs have gone through a lot of crap over the years with their supposed curses, so they're only preparing for the worse. A-Rod's strike out gave the Cubs their 3-1 win, and so they went home happy. Good for them.

What I also found to be terrific was that the Cubs, with the help of Yankee fans of course, set a series record with over 126,000 fans showing up to the games. You can read that story HERE.
I thought it was cool to be apart of history like that.

But, in conclusion to my trip, I tend to think that Cubs games are just an event for the Cubs fans. They care more about drinking a few beers, and having a good time with their friends and fellow fans, which is OK too, but from the outside looking in, I just thought it would be different, people scoring the game in their books, loud booing and loud cheering but it wasn't like I thought.

Us Yankee fans, and especially us at BYB, we truly love our Yankees and we try to follow our team pitch for pitch as much as possible. That's the way I learned...that's what it's all about to me.



--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.