Yes We Can

I got a major treat last week: a free Cubs game. Most of us know that I am a Cubs fan, and I love to attend games. There is no other place on Earth I would rather be than Wrigley Field, watching my Cubbies win. Well, one thing that I have sacrificed for the sake of our wedding fund is purchasing Cubs tickets. I will usually attend around ten games a year, but I told myself I will just have to enjoy the games from home this year so we can have the wedding of our dreams. However, if tickets somehow come my way, I will always say yes. Last week I was lucky enough to have one of the teachers I work with toss me a couple of tickets for the game on Thursday, August 28 against the Phillies. I gladly accepted and was giddy with anticipation for the whole week.

After picking Mar up from the train station in Hinsdale, we made our way to the North Side and promptly headed to the Shrine. The seats we were sitting in actually belong to one of the deans at my school and were very good. We were on the third base line in section 407, which is a prime spot to view the game. Ryan Dempster was pitching, which is almost a guaranteed victory at home for the Cubs. On this particular day, Demp didn't have his good stuff as he labored through six innings while keeping us in the game. By the time the eighth inning came, we were down by 4-1 and the magic was about to begin.

Mike Fontenot led bottom of the eighth off with pinch hit solo homer, cutting the Phillie lead to two runs and riling the crowd up. Alfonso Soriano followed with a double and Ryan Theriot promptly moved Soriano to third with a solid single. This put men on the corners with no outs and Derek Lee at the plate. The crowd was really worked up at this point, but I kept my cool because I knew that nothing was set in stone quite yet. We were still down by two runs and there was no guarantee that we were going to take the lead. Well, D-Rock worked a walk out of his at-bat and the bases were now loaded for Aramis Ramirez. This is when I got excited.

As Rami made his way to the plate, I turned to Mar and pointed to the bleachers in left center and said, "That is the spot where Aramis is about to hit a grand slam." Rami then took the first pitch high and tight. I then said to Mar, "The pitcher is about to groove Aramis a fastball and he is going to give it the ride of it's live." The next pitch was a fastball, and Mr. Ramirez deposited the ball in the exact spot that I pointed to in the left center bleachers. I can honestly say that I don't think I have ever heard Wrigley that loud as the crowd went into a frenzy. Everyone was jumping and giving each other high fives as our Cubs took a 6-4 lead. They did not score anymore runs, but the lead was enough for Woody to hold down the Phils in the top of the ninth to earn a save. After the final out, "Go Cubs Go!" blared for the PA system as we sang along word for word.

This was one of the best regular season games I have EVER been to. Besides the victory, it was a real treat for me to go to the game and I was very thankful for the opportunity. I really hope this is the year that we go the distance, and I whole heartedly believe that we can. On top of the game being so great, the Punky QB sang the Stretch. It really doesn't get much better than this.