LET ME HEAR YA…A ONE…A TWO….A THREE… (Harry Caray)

 

“Take me out to the ball game,

Take me out with the crowd,

Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,

I don't care if I never get back.

Let me root, root, root for the Cubbies,

If they don't win, it's a shame.

For it’s one, two, three strikes, you're out,

At the old ball game.”

 

Oh yes. Today was a day of many firsts. My first Chicago-style hotdog (Hot-Dawg) and more importantly, my first ever Baseball game.

 

The Hotdog

Bun, Sausage, onions, Ketchup, mustard, tomatoes, relish, pickles = one big giant mess.

Impossible to eat in lady-like fashion. Photo (underneath) demonstrates contents of hotdog in motion, trying to escape certain consumption by...ME!!

 

The Baseball

Beer, Food, Sunshine, (and a bit of rain). What better way to spend an afternoon?

The Chicago Cubs were taking on the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field (yes, Mr. Chewing Gum’s stadium). The stadium was packed out with Cubs fans and I luckily sat next to a guy who was kind enough to explain the rules to me!

 

 

In the middle of the 7^th Inning, we all got up to sing “Take me out to the ball game” (lyrics above), led by a guest singer who was a descendent of Jackie Robinson, the 1^st black major-league baseball player who burst onto the scene in 1947, breaking baseball's colour barrier. Have now learnt the words, so next time will be able to sing with a bit more conviction.

 

In the end, the Cubs lost 3-5, but the atmosphere was still good. (I think if you’re a Cubs fan, you kindof have to get used to it • the last time they were champions was back in 1908!).

 

We followed the crowd out to the row of bars that line the streets in Wrigleyville. Ended up in a bar called Sluggers dancing the late afternoon away….