Cubs Win! Cubs Win! Rockies Lose!

Now that I am retired and don't have to show up for a job any more, I decided to go to the rubber game between the Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs at Coors Field yesterday afternoon.  I took the light rail train to the ballpark, and was surprised to find all the rail cars packed with Cub fans.  I was somehow able to squeeze into one of the cars, and disembarked at Denver's Union Station relatively unscathed, taking the photograph on the left of those Wrigley Field denizens marching to the ballpark. The local sports columnists seem perplexed about why there are so many Cubs fans here in Denver.  One writer speculates it is because the Cubs were televised on Super Station WGN (with Harry Carey and Steve Stone announcing the games) for many years, and that the Cubs built a following through that.  I myself think that all these fans simply moved to Denver from the north side of Chicago, considering it just part of the far western suburbs of that city, and continue to cheer on their team from here.

As I entered Coors Field, I could not help but notice that there was a significant Denver police presence, and that they had a bomb sniffing dog with them (Cubs fans are crazy, if you don't already know that).  I took my seat in the upper deck right field corner (as seen in the photo on the right) and listened to the announcer tell us that "if we see something, say something," and then watched a video on the scoreboard screen about emergency exits from the stadium.  I think that Colorado Rockies management is beginning to suspect what we south side Chicago White Sox fans have always known about these Cubs fanatics.

It was pretty damn hot sitting in the upper deck in the sun Wednesday afternoon, but that is the price you pay for daytime baseball. Somehow, the Rockies managed to win the first two games of the series, but unfortunately lost the Wednesday contest by a score of 10 to 1, and it was not as close a contest as the score indicates.  The most exciting part of the game was the race between the dental implements, as seen in the photo on the left.  The idea for this contest was stolen from the Milwaukee Brewer's (they hold a race between sausages), but these days there is no honor among thieves, or for that matter ball clubs.  Which brings me back to the recent concept of "dynamic pricing," where baseball organizations raise or lower prices depending on the demand for the tickets.  And let me tell you, Cubs fans will pay through the nose to watch their team.