The
Cubs’ home opener is an annual tradition of mine. I attended my first in 1978 as a
kindergartner, went again in 1981 and starting in 1993, have been to every one
since. Regardless of the number of times
I have been able to watch my beloved Cubbies at the Friendly Confines over the
years, however, there is still a certain awe I feel as I ascend the steps and
the field unfolds in front of me.
As I
approached the corner of Clark and Addison this year, a gigantic banner announced
that 2014 is going to be “The Party of the Century.” Not because the Cubs are projected to contend
this year, but because Wrigley Field is 100 years old. Yay?
Beginning
at the 2014 Cubs Convention, it was clear that the organization was going to be
making a huge deal about Wrigley Field’s 100th year as they unveiled
a slick branding campaign and a slate of throwback uniforms, promotions and
food choices (very loosely) associated with the various decades. Really, who doesn’t immediately think
of deep-fried mini corn dogs when asked about life in the 1940s?
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| The first of 10 bobblehead giveaways. |
Wrigley
Field was not even originally built for the Cubs and they have only played there
for 98 seasons.
The
ballpark was built by Charles Weeghman as the home ballpark for his Chicago
team in the outlaw Federal League.
Completed just prior to opening day in 1914, Weeghman
Park Thursday, April 23, 1914 , as the Chicago
squad beat the Kansas City Packers 9-1 in front of 21,000 people. The league, however, ultimately failed in their
attempts to establish themselves as a third major league.
A
settlement agreement in late 1915 with the National and American Leagues saw the
dissolution of the Federal League, payment to the Federal League team owners
and the transfer of the Cubs to Weeghman, who immediately moved the Cubs to his
modern Northside ballpark to begin the 1916 season.
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| The giveaway for April 20, 2014 was this toy train for the 1910s weekend. |
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| My son played with this for about five minutes before it broke. I refuse to acknowledge the apparent metaphor. |
Essentially,
the “Party of the Century” is just a gigantic tribute to the team’s futility
and a manifest reminder that 100 years have now passed without a World’s
Championship. In fact, at the time of
the last World Series victory in 1908, the Cubs played at the West Side Grounds
near where the Eisenhower expressway now runs.
If
you are less than 68 years old, you have not even been alive for a World Series
game played at Wrigley Field. In perhaps an unintended acknowledgement as to the paucity of significant events that have taken place at Wrigley Field, the Cubs’ own website places Babe Ruth’s “Called Shot” at the top of the amazingly short list!
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| Stickers given to the kids. |
The
Cubs’ marketing department has certainly seized on the 100th
anniversary thing with gusto. The
season-long celebration regarding the age of the building that the team calls
home is about the only thing the Cubs are going to have to celebrate this year
and I could not feel any more apathetic.
Who really cares that Wrigley Field is 100 years old? I sure don’t and frankly, it would be much nicer
to have something to cheer about on the field this year.
While
Cubs ownership and management are preaching continued patience as we wait for
the recent draft classes to mature and we hold our collective breath for Javier
Baez’s arrival, I am having trouble reconciling a marketing push and
merchandising money grab surrounding the 100th year of Wrigley Field
as the “Party of the Century.”
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| Mini-helmet ice cream bowls sporting 100th Anniversary logo. |
As
fans, we all know what the “Party of the Century” will actually be. Let’s just hope it happens this century.
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