It Was SUPPOSED to be a Great Night for a Baseball Game ...

I was sitting through my home owners association's annual meeting last week on Monday night when I got bored and decided to check my e mail. I was surprised to see that my name had been drawn to have an opportunity to get up to four tickets for any of games three, four and five of the then-current Cubs-Mets baseball series. Tickets to the National League Championship Series? Sounded like a winner to me. I let thundering36 know that I had a chance to get tickets  and that I was looking to game four on Wednesday night. That night was also good for him.

I had a two-hour window on Tuesday morning to try for the tickets online. I originally was able to purchase two seats in the mezzanine section, but then something messed up and I was shut out. I kept trying, and 15 minutes later two tickets in the upper deck for game four appeared. I grabbed them. Yowsa!

On Wednesday morning I left work early, went home to take the dog out and change my clothes, then ate and headed up to the Chicago suburbs.

I picked up thundering36, and it was off we went! We drove to a free (would you expect anything less from me?) official Cubs parking lot that was about three miles from Wrigley Field. We then took a shuttle to the Friendly Confines.

It was a beautiful afternoon -- perfect weather for an early evening game. But first -- a trip to Goose Island for some sandwiches before the game.

And no, we were just happy to be there. Sorry angerisagift -- no ganja was smoked before the game!

We got into our seats early and just enjoyed the playoff atmosphere. The game began and we were all ready for action. Unfortunately, the Mets supplied more action than we wanted, jumping out to an early lead and, for all intents and purposes, ending the game before the Cubs even came to bat. The park got very quiet as hitter after hitter was mowed down by the one Mets pitcher that we thought would be jumped on. Bah! The game really sucked. It was torture to be there.

Even though thundering36 said that there was no way that he wanted to be there to see the Mets clinch the league title, we, along with most of the other patrons, stayed to the bitter end. And Triple P, a photo just for you:

I just kept thinking "Get the eff off the field. Nobody here gives a crap." Well, there were a few hundred rabid cheering Mets fans who were sitting behind the Mets' dugout. But then the moment came that we had been waiting for: the Cubs players came back on the field to the thunderous applause of the appreciative crowd. The Cubs were not supposed to go that far, but their longest run in several years gives hope for the future.

We left Wrigley Field and caught a shuttle bus back to the parking lot. We then had to contend with heavy traffic until we could get back on the Kennedy Expressway. We got back to my Mom's house after midnight, and I crashed on the couch a short time later. I woke up early in the morning and had a 140 mile drive back home, then changed and went into work.

The World Series begins tonight, but I find myself relatively uninterested. I hate the Kansas City Royals (being a dual White Sox and Cubs fan), so although I think the Royals are the best team in baseball, I hope the Mets pitchers shut them down.

Maybe next year. Where have I heard that before?