Friday Discussion: Going to the Game

Filed under General

This one is going to be short and sweet. It’s simply a question on your feelings for the rest of the season. Each game we continue to see Wrigley Field packed, despite the losing record of the team. As a Cub fan, do you think it’s wrong for those people to be showing up?

I ask the question because I am heading to Chicago with the family Saturday and in the process will be catching two games. I’ll be in attendance tomorrow in Cincinnati and then on Wednesday in Chicago against the Pirates.

Am I total tool for buying two games worth of tickets at this point?

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Buddy

Not at all. Sports is entertainment. If going to Wrigley is fun for you, by all means go. Personally, I just love baseball and would go to any game, any time.
wax_eagle

Honestly, it depends on the day. Most days to me the experience is more important than the product. especially when I take my son to games (he is 2). Its about being in the stands, experiencing baseball (and him exclaiming “base..ball” every couple of minutes).

However, there are days where I want to see a really good product on the field too. If I am going to spend real money on a game I want to see a team that is going to produce. If I was a season ticket holder for the Cubs I would be sorely disappointed this year. But the flip side is also true, I am going to make an effort to see another Braves game (2 hrs away) this summer because they are pretty much awesome this year.

I won’t go out of my way to see a crappy team, but if I want to see a baseball game any game will do. For me baseball games have two appeals, the fan experience and the product on the field, mostly I care about the experience, but the product is important too.
greg

I agree with Buddy and if your a true Cubs fan it doesn’t matter if its a good or bad season when it comes to going to a game. If you are going to get tickets and are going to be able to go then go! I live in New York and I wish I had the chance to go to a game at Wrigley any time I want.
http://twitter.com/moondogkp MoondogKP

If you live in Chicago and can go nearly anytime, then the choice is different. Now, with some new faces playing, I’d probably go and see how they look with the new blood. I look at it from the point of opportunity. For those of us not close to a major league team, we have to take every opportunity to see the game live when we can.

That said, I don’t think I’m stopping by The Cell Sunday unless someone drags me there, and it might take handcuffs.
http://mytimetowaste.com Rich Beckman

Your a Cubs fan. Go to the game. Enjoy.

Does this year suck. Yeah. Though, personally, I think they have been more fun to watch since the trades. Perhaps the players no longer feel any pressure?

There are still good players on the team to watch. And you never know, they could very well win!! (well, at least they might win the Reds game.
dat_cubfan_daver

Well, there may be a slight problem with your premise. I’m not sure Wrigley is “packed” per se. I don’t have any attendance numbers in front of me, but there have been a lot of empty seats as of late – and September is probably going to be a nightmare. (It was in 2006.) I was at the game on Saturday, which I understand did have good attendance, but I noticed that the Bud Light “reserved” bleachers in right field were noticeably underfilled for the whole game. And now Harry Caray’s restaurant is GIVING AWAY 1,000 bleacher seats for the Sept. 1 game against the Pirates — clearly a desperate attempt to fill the place to avoid embarassment.

But, all that aside, there’s very little to be accomplished in boycotting a team. Most of the tickets are already sold and the money has been made. And, laugh if you want, but the Cubs are still a professional baseball team playing the game at a high level. So, if you love baseball, there are far worse ways to spend your time than watching a game at Wrigley – even if it’s completely meaningless in terms of the standings. Hell, I’d go to another game if I had the time to spare.

Enjoy Chicago, Joe!
Mark

I think the important part of the discussion is who you’re going with. If you enjoy taking part in a game with the family than by all means go. I am going to a game next weekend as part of a bachelor party on a rooftop and than the weekend after that will be catching a game in Milwaukee because my wife has never been to Miller Park and I think that is also a great place to catch a game. It’s not about that you’re going, it’s about going with somebody and enjoying what we have left of the summer.
Seymour Butts

I don’t feel qualified to answer a question on your “tool-worthiness”. Ask Mrs VFTB. (Blatant attempt at a Lizzie)

By all means go to the games. GAB in Cincinnati is a very pedestrian park in an otherwise rotten city. There is nothing else worth doing if you are there.
Wrigley is Mecca, pay homage when you can.
Tim

I am glad to read that the tone of the earlier comments are not anywhere near as negative as I thought they could be given the way the season has gone. I firmly believe that there is no such thing as a bad day at Wrigley Field and that any opportunity to go is an opportunity that must be acted upon. I have never fully subscribed to the opinion that staying away from Wrigley will immediately cause Ricketts to snap to attention, wave a wand and make the team better. In fact, you could argue the opposite effect could happen.
Enjoy your day at Wrigley and have an Old Style for me!
http://swantron.com jswanson

I’m with Tim…that is two vicarious Old Styles. You may have to supplement that with more, of course, if the P Rats still have our number.
CubbieDude

I think going to a game at Wrigley sounds like a great idea.
MJ

Personally, I don’t go anymore unless I’m given tickets. And even in those cases, I sometimes give those away. Ticket sales are all presold, but concessions are not, and with the teams they’ve put on the field, it leads to heavy drinking (at least for me)…..thus more $$$$ for the Cubbies. No thank you. I’ll drink at home.

After some run ins with terrible fair weather/we’re just here to be at the biggest bar North of Chicago fans, I relented and decided my time was better served staying home, watching on TV, and listening to Len and Bob (or Pat and Ron). Not next to the twenty something tool, with terrible Old Style in hand, while sending pix via his Blackberry to any of the Lincoln Park Trixies he might get to hop in the sack with him later that evening.
mastrick

I think it’s right to go to the ballgame if you want to enjoy the ballgame. Mr. Ricketts doesn’t need to be sent a message about the Cubs; he understands what’s going on and made it very clear to another Cubs blogger recently. I’m rooting for the Cubs and their new skipper Mike Quade, let’s see what he can do!
Buddy

I complain about this year’s team as much as anybody. However, a day at a baseball park is like a day golfing or fishing. You go every chance you get. It’s almost impossible to screw it up, unless you try.
Larry Sproul

Even tho 2010 is a disaster I still support the team . Made it to Mesa, opening day, and the Cardinals series last month . I plan to make it to Wrigley next week . Living 400 miles away you attend when you can. The good side is there are some great ticket prices on e-bay,ticket brokers ect . Go Cubs !!
lizzie

We stopped going to Wrigley also for many of the reasons MJ mentioned … having very little to do with how the team is actually playing.
Mr. David M. Beyer

When I was a kid I would go to Wrigley knowing full well that the Cubs were going to lose (pre-’84). There were only 7000 people at each game, but it doesn’t matter the attendance. Going to a major league game — especially in Wrigley — is an experience.
Doug S.

Only been to Wrigley once. June 5th 1998 and cherish the memory of that game. Since then and during my travels literally everybody I’ve met (that wasn’t from Chicago) loved their Wrigley visit. The people from Chicago that I’ve met didn’t have as much love for Wrigley. I guess it gets less special when you can do it any time.

Friday Discussion: Going to the Game

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