Chicago Cubs

Joyful banners wave in the stadium, and cheerful fans shout and motivate the players. Every strike is followed by a rousing cheer, and every out turns into an thundering noise. Such is the sight at Wrigley Field during any Cubs game.

This year the Cubs performance has been far better than expected, and thanks to this team’s wonderful performance this year, Wrigley Field has set attendance records. The atmosphere that is created when masses of people gather to cheer for one team is an awesome event. The atmosphere is electric and, even if you know nothing about the game of baseball, you cheer whenever others cheer. The crowd draws in everybody, once you enter Wrigley Field the crowd manages to make you feel special, although they don’t talk to you or treat you especially well, the crowd makes you feel unique. Each strike, each out, each hit, each home run, each foul ball caught causes a feverish pitch in the ballpark, and a smile is inevitable in the faces of first time Wrigley Field visitors.

If the "go, go, go" spirit of the fans is not enough to amaze any tourist, the Cubs’ performance this year is guaranteed to. Sammy Sosa’s home run hitting streak has contributed significantly to filling the ballpark this season. He has risen to stardom with his homeruns. He is currently one of the most known stars in the game of baseball, and consequently the media uses his homeruns to fall back on when news is dry. Cubs fans savor every homerun he hits, as they realize that he might add another scoring title to his resume. Every homerun hit by him also makes him more dear to the city he plays for, and homeruns are coming at a rapid pace. His hitting has earned him many nicknames, among these are Slammin’ Sammy and Slammy. He has truly captivated the hearts of Cubs Fans, yet this year there remains another superhero that occupies the heart of Cubs Fans.

If Sosa were considered Superman of batting then Kerry Wood would be considered Batman of pitching. If Sosa’s heave accompanies a cheer, so does Wood’s pitch. The comfort of knowing that there is always a pitcher with the talent to strike out 20 players provides a boost whenever the team’s spirit is lagging. Himself and Sammy Sosa are the one-two punch that this team has been lacking in past years. Owing to this, these two players have risen to fame quickly and have provided Chicagoans with a topic to talk about without having to bring up Michael Jordan.

I used to think of baseball as an extremely easy game. I knew the fact that the pitches travel as fast as 100 mph, yet when I watched the game on television, hitting the ball seemed easy as pie, and I considered batting child’s play. Misconceptions such as these led me to believe that baseball was the easiest sport on the planet. When Sosa’s homeruns were repeatedly brought into the spotlight, I did not understand why. These and many more accusations were prominent in my mind when I went to watch a Cubs game. That one game was able to filter all my wrong beliefs, making me change my thoughts. I now think much more highly of the game and the players. It was only after the game was I able to admire Sosa’s achievements. My views about baseball would not have changed as significantly as they did if it had not been for the crowd. Baseball that is watched on the television still serves as a lullaby to me; I find it hard to sustain my interest in the game for more than four innings. Although, at Wrigley field I was able to watch the game without losing my interest, to me the crowd plays the most important role in the game of Baseball.

The Cubs performance this year has brought thousands of old fans back to Wrigley Field. More fans continue to migrate to Wrigley Field each day and more will continue to do so if the Cubs performance remains unchanged. Keep it up, guys!

Date Posted : August 09, 1998.

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