My Baseball Memory

Growing up in Northern California I had been to a number of Giants and A's games. My dad, who never had the son to share his passion for sports, dragged his four year old daughter around to rowdy Raiders and Sharks games. Immediately, his passion for sports was absorbed by me. While I had hit much more Bay Area sports games than the average seven year old girl, the baseball game of my youth that I most remember actually took place at Wrigley field. While the game did happen to be against the Giants, the crowd and myself included were pulling for the Cubs. My mom and dad had met and both attended college in Chicago, and my extended family called it home, so my family had always identified with the Cubs. My dad had made a plan to meet up with some of his own college friends and go to the afternoon game. When one of them pulled out of the plan, I eagerly jumped on the opportunity. Reluctant at first, my dad said yes, but that I would have to behave when we went to the bar before and after the game. I don't remember much about the game, just that the Cubs ended up winning. Mostly, I remember the atmosphere of Wrigley and the passion and devotion of the fans. While the game was almost 10 years ago, I still clearly remember walking outside the stadium, shaded by patches of shadows from the trees, looking at the neighboring houses and thinking how cool it would be to live right next to the glorious ball park. To say Wrigley Field has character is an understatement. The park is just as much part of the team as the pitcher or the catcher. I remember in the midst of an afternoon shower at the game, the roof started letting through water onto us (our seats were in one of the few covered part of the stadium). The leaks in the roof didn't seem to bother a soul. It just gave the park even more character. After the game, I bought a Wrigley Field t-shirt that even though it no longer fits, I've kept until this day. Since this game, I've been fortunate enough to attend a few more games at Wrigley and one at Fenway. I'm sure that my memory of my day at Wrigley will stay with me forever.