Rain Delay, New Cubs Ticketing Rules and Wicker Park

Yesterdays Cubs game started out with a 63 minute rain delay. Since I did not have tickets to the game, I either needed to buy tickets from a scalper (so I could wait out the rain delay at home) or buy tickets through the Cubs new “day of game” ticket sales policy and enter the park immediately.

Cubs New “Day of Game” Ticketing Policy
Before the second half of the season started the Cubs used to sell “day of game” tickets starting at 9 am. Fans (and scalpers) would wait in line and buy up the remaining tickets for the day. After the All-Star break, the Cubs start selling “day of game” tickets only three hours before the start of the game. In addition, fans must immediately enter the ballpark after purchasing their ticket.

Obtaining Tickets
At 12:45 pm it was raining. I did not necessarily want to buy a ticket from the Cubs and sit in Wrigley Field until the rain delay was over. Instead, I found Broker Ben, who sells tickets outside of our house. He had about half a dozen bleacher seats (face value $45). I asked if he had a $20 ticket (knowing that SRO was $15 from the Cubs). He did not say no initially so I knew that was a reasonable price. After some haggling, I bought a bleacher seat for $20 and walked back to the house.

The game was now scheduled to start at 2:20 pm (rather than 1:20 pm). Nicole left for the gym at 1:45 pm. Next thing I knew she was ringing our doorbell excessively. “Get down here. The Stanley Cup is at Murphy’s,” she yelled. I grabbed the camera and ran over to Murphy’s. At that moment, Chris Chelios was walking from Murphy’s to the bleacher entrance for the game’s first pitch. I asked, “Can we get a picture with the Cup?” “Can’t. Need to get in for the first pitch,” Chelios replied. So while Chelios was walking to the bleacher entrance we snapped a couple of pictures.

The Game
I entered the bleachers as the game began. The Cubs took an early 4-0 lead but could not come back after Willie Harris hit his first career grand slam in the top of the 6th and added another two-run home run in the top of the 9th for a total of 6 RBI. The Nationals rolled to a 13-5 win – the most runs the Cubs have allowed at home this season.

Post Game Dining
After the game, Nicole and I went to dinner at People Lounge – located in Wicker Park at 1560 N. Milwaukee Ave. As I wrote three weeks ago, Wicker Park, similar to Andersonville, is a great way to avoid the Wrigleyville crowd after a game, with plenty of bars and restaurants. While the food was good at People, the drinks were watered down and the server kept trying to up sell us.

Wicker Park: is about a 15 minute drive from Wrigley Field. If taking public transportation, your best bet is to take the red line from Addison to the North/Clybourn stop. Next take the North St. bus west to the three way corner of North/Damen/Milwaukee Ave.