25 Oct 2016- countdown to
this year’s World Series is 2.5 hours to “Play Ball.” Seventy-two hours later
game 3 is scheduled to be the first World Series matchup at Wrigley Field since
1945; yep, 71-years. I know Cubs fans are ecstatic that their “Cubbies” are “in
it” for the first time in generations. I’m excited, and I’m a Dodgers fan (but
have also rooted for the boys in red-white & blue from the northside of
Chicago for a long time: my initial game a Dodger Stadium was Cubs vs.
Dodgers).
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| Wrigley Field- under construction |
Yeah gotta love fans that are so eternally optimistic
(“wait until next year”) and universally positive (“Let’s go Cub-bies”) –
unlike some other franchise’s fans that seem to dwell on negativity and
aggression (“beat LA”). Wrigley Field is a special place: allow me share
memories of my sojourn there.
When I was working for the State Historic
Preservation Officer in New Mexico, I had the NM Dept. of Transportation as a
primary client. Their lead archaeologist (Blake Roxlau) was born in Iowa and
raised in the Midwest: he was a life-long Cubs fan. On one of our inspection
trips to Lincoln County I learned he’d never been to a game a Wrigley Field. I
knew in a heartbeat that we needed to wind-our-way via Southwest Airlines and
see some games.
Turns out an ol’ NPS Ranger bro (JD Swed) was
living/stationed nearby as the Chief Ranger at Indiana Dunes National
Lakeshore.
JD was also a Cubs fan
(longtime…). Meme & Justin weren’t available to make the trip from the
“land of Enchantment,” but JD made the commute into the Second City. We caught
two afternoon games: The Cubs were victorious over the Houston Astros (NL
Central foes at the time) on day one, followed by Los Dodgers coming to town
and turning-the-tables on the hometown crew. After the games we visited some
local abrs and eateries: one was Ditka’s, where part way through dinner we
noticed “Coach Ditka” had taken up residence at the next table. JD gave him our
regards and had a quick chat.
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| 1935 |
I came to see the games, but as much I also went to
see Wrigley Field. It was about 90+ years old and had legend going for it: Babe
Ruth & the Red Sox playing the Cubs in the Series, then years later Babe
with the Yankees in-the-Series “calling his shot” homerun. I wanted to see if
Wrigley Field had the elements to be considered a TCP (“Traditional Cultural
Property”). I had posed the question at a training session of the President’s
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, but was quickly shushed by the
moderator (at a break he explained that due to the number of Native American
tribal representatives present, he didn’t-want-to-go-there). Well, I did and so
I did physically. True that TCPs are most often associated with Native
Americans and certain other cultural groups, but I was thinking of the elements
like “an urban
neighborhood that is the traditional home of a particular cultural group, and
that reflects its beliefs and practices; a location where a community has
traditionally carried out economic, artistic, or other cultural practices
important in maintaining its historic identity.”
Let’s face it: Wrigley Field
is historic (by U.S. standards & definition), people make periodic
pilgramiges to be there, I noticed lots of ritualistic behavior (&
imbibing) going on, and lots of what might have been praying. I think it fits.
Go CUBS!
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