Red Sox at Cubs, June 17

Last night, I bought my tickets for the Red Sox at Cubs game on June 17. The time is TBD, but my guess is it’s the game broadcasted by ESPN for Sunday Night Baseball. This would mean that there’s a good chance Terry Francona will be commentating. A reunion is in place for the Boston Red Sox, former general manager Theo Epstein, and former manager Terry Francona.

When I first found out about the Red Sox at Cubs series for the 2012 season, I immediately went to my family and said we had to go. There was some apprehension, then a flat-out “no” from my parents, then some looking into the White Sox-Red Sox series, and then another “no” from my parents. I went on StubHub a few weeks ago to see about Reds-Cubs tickets (for some reason, I’ve been enjoying watching the Reds play the past few years) and came across Red Sox-Cubs tickets starting under $50. I decided that if I wasn’t going to go to the game with my family, I would try and get some friends
together and go. My family soon changed their minds though.

I’m very excited about this game for a number of reasons. The first reason being that this will be my first time going to Wrigley Field. I’ve always wanted to go to Wrigley, but when you’re a Red Sox fan living in Iowa, you always want to see the Red Sox play. I’ve been to many games at US Cellular Field (aka Comiskey Park); I’ve even seen a White Sox-Mariners game there (one of my favorite baseball moments- Ken Griffey Jr. waived at my friends and me). The last time the Red Sox visited the Cubs, I couldn’t get tickets, so I’ve been keeping track of this game for a long time.

The second reason I’m excited about this game is that it’s been two years since I’ve seen the Red Sox live. My family and I went to Boston two years ago, and I was lucky enough to see two games while out there. Growing up, we’ve tried to get to a Red Sox game every year (we’ve seen them play in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Kansas City), but it’s been a little more difficult now that we’re all older. The last time I saw the Red Sox play in Chicago was four years ago, so it’s been awhile. Another reason why this is going to be an exciting game is the whole Red Sox-Cubs, Theo Epstein dynamic.

I’ve been trying not to talk bad about Epstein, but I do think he sort of jumped ship on the Red Sox organization. I know he did about everything he could with the Red Sox, but he also left the organization at a bad time. The compensation, which was supposed to be “substantial,” has been anything but. I want to see what it’s like for Cubs fans who are thinking of Epstein as a “savior” figure (please Google “Theo Epstein, Chicago Sun Times” for this image, if you haven’t seen it yet).

This is being set up as a Sunday Night Baseball telecast (though, it hasn’t been announced yet). It’s the Cubs and the Red Sox, two of the most storied franchises. Even people who are not fans of either teams will tune in to watch this game. I’ve never been to a Sunday Night game, let alone a Sunday Night Baseball game. I’m sure the entire atmosphere of Wrigley will be different with even more energy and excitement.

Lastly, I want to see if Terry Francona goes down on the field and visits with the Red Sox players. One of my favorite things over the past few seasons is seeing Francona with his players, especially Pedroia. The players loved Francona as a friend/father-figure. The fans loved Francona, for the most part.

As I’ve been stating, I’m really excited for this game. If anyone has suggestions about things to do in Wrigleyville or things to see at Wrigley Field, please let me know. I want to get as much out of this experience as possible.