Sam Zell, owner of the Tribune Corporation, has recently announced that he may sell the naming rights to Wrigley Field.
The home of Chicago Cubs has been a baseball institution for nearly 100 years, and has been known as Wrigley Field for 82 years. The neighborhood around the field is called Wrigleyville. Even a set of proud parents Cubs fans named their child, ‘Wrigley Fields’.
For all of you that have considered The Friendly Confines your home away from home, I want to propose an opportunity to you to help purchase the naming rights for the divine ballpark at 1060 W. Addison that we know and love as Wrigley Field.
If you are in the group of people that believe the red marquee at 1060 W. Addison that boldly represents the title to your shrine of happiness should not be altered, then please join me in outrage as Sam Zell wants to rename our shrine for the simple purpose of making a few extra bucks.
It would be a shame to think about some of the best memories of our lives would be altered and future happiness for generations would be at risk because of corporate greed.
Some of my best memories of a Cubs Fan at Wrigley:
1970’s – When I was a young child I attended every opening day at Wrigley with my parents. This was a special day because it represented hope and the sign that spring was here and also my parents let me take a day off school. It also let us talk about Kingman, Reuschel, Madlock, and Buckner.
1970’s – Wondering what the upper deck was used for at Wrigley.
1970’s – Thinking how great true double headers were. They let us see two games for the price of one.
1984 – The Sandburg Game – A truly special moment… Going yard twice off of the unhittable Bruce Sutter was considered impossible. I wasn’t at this game, but did watch every inning on the NBC game of the week.
1984 – Seeing the great Red Baron dominate after being traded from the Indians. This was my first playoff game ever attended and probably was one of the happiest days of my life and the Cubs won the first game of the series and Sutcliff even hit a home run.
1989 – Watching Maddux dominate and take a Cubs team to the playoffs.
1998 – Sammy vs. McGuire – This was special. Many home runs this season with the game on the line. This was truly an amazing season.
1998 – Kerry Wood – 20 Strikeouts – I have to admit I wasn’t at the game, but this was one I was sad I missed.
1998 – One Game Playoff game vs. the Giants – The second happiest day of my life. In three days, we went from extreme sadness thinking the Cubs were out of the playoffs to watching the Rockies defeat the Giants to force the one game playoff. We all still love Gary Gaietii after this game.
2003 – Many great memories of 2003, but the playoffs were the best. I went to 50 home games this year and all of the playoff games. Watching the Cubs beat the Braves in Atlanta with more Cubs fans in the park that Braves fans was particularly special.
Some of my special thoughts about Wrigley
1. I love the white W flag. It gives a feeling of comfort when I see it flying high.
2. Seeing the red and blue banner flying on top of the center set of team flags above the scoreboard. These are special times.
3. Knowing what every white flag around the top of the grandstand means.
Hack 191
66 Sammy
20 KW
8 Hawk
17 Grace
4. Seeing the four retired numbers 14, 10,26, and 23 for Banks, Santo, Williams and Sandburg.
5. Seeing the foul poles say Hey-Hey for the late Jack Brickhouse.
6. Knowing that Eamus Catuli is latin for Let’s Go Cubs.
7. Knowing that AC046299 means Anno Catuli and represents the number of years since the playoffs, number of years since a world series appearance, and the number of years since a world series victory.
8. Hearing Van Halen’s Jump and thinking about Sandburg jumping over second turning the double play. Also singing Get Down Tonight after a night game victory. And singing Go Cubs Go after a day game victory.
9. Watching the last manual scoreboard in the league.
10. Driving by the intersection of Clark and Addison and watching the Red Marquee sign show the lovely letters – “Cubs Win”
I know there are a lot more avid fans in the world than me. For example, Pro golfer David Ogrin, a Waukegan native, is such a Cubs fan that he named his son Clark Addison, after the streets that intersect at Wrigley Field.
So for those of you that are bigger fans than David Ogrin and myself, I beg for your help in supporting our cause to raise the money to buy the naming rights to Wrigley field. Please donate what you can and see if we can raise enough money to buy the Cubs.
The most recent, high profile deals involved Citibank purchasing the rights to Shea Stadium and renaming it CitiField, and Barclays buying the naming rights to the yet to be completed New Jersey Nets stadium in Brooklyn. Both deals are valued at $400,000,000.
In a world of materialism and branding sold to the highest bidder, some things must be beyond corporate greed. The name of our beloved Cubbies home is one of those things. We owe it to the Cubs, to the tradition of baseball and the to good people of the city of Chicago to buy the name of the Wrigley Field and keep it in public trust.
Join us and contribute. This may be the boost the Cubs need to win it all.
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