Chicago sports can take you to the heights of euphoria and to the depths of despair.

The Cubs - euphoria: It was the final “regular season” home game for the Cubs (Cubs fans do not get to distinguish between final home games very often). The Cubs won 8-0, while fans did the Tomahawk chop when the Wrigley Field scoreboard displayed the Braves scoring against the Brewers in the bottom of the 7th and 8th.

Even with the hope of October baseball in Chicago, the last home game at Wrigley Field always has a nostalgic fall feel on a Sunday afternoon. It is like the last day of summer camp when all the kids have to go home.

The Bears - despair: We drove to Soldier Field after the Cubs game. It was the first time we have used our SUV to tailgate. We bought gourmet burgers, brats and beer from Whole Foods and tailgated with our friend Mike Holzman and his fiance Randi. Notably, Bears tailgates in the main parking lot are quite a scene. Amazingly, there is a window of 30 minutes before the game where this bustling party shuts down because Bears fans, regardless of how much they drank, go into the game on time.

As we walked into the game, many fans were holding up the “I need 2 tickets” fingers – meaning they were looking for tickets. Visibly, demand was definitely higher than supply for the Dallas at Chicago match up.

As for the game, the Bears lost 34-10 and Grossman had 3 interceptions. The Ultimate Sports Wife duct taped her old #8 McNown jersey thinking that the name would embarrass her and bring bad luck to the Bears. Instead, Bears fans started high fiving her for disrespecting Grossman’s name.

Note: The first time (out of only a hand full of times) that I went to a stadium and was unable to scalp tickets outside the stadium was back on September 2, 1996, when the Bears hosted the Cowboys. I did not have enough cash to cover the $125 per ticket at the time. Thus, I learned to always bring enough cash, including small bills, because scalpers don’t like to make change.

Pre Game Comments
This is more than just a cross-town classic; it might be a Chicago first. Usually when the Bears and Cubs are home on the same day the games are played at similar times. Today the Cubs start at 1:20 pm and the Bears play at 7:15 pm. The Chicago Fans Ultimate Double Header.

I stood in line to buy a Cubs ticket for over an hour this morning. When I got to the ticket window they said I could only buy one standing room ticket per person. One ticket! I guess that’s good to distribute more tickets but you would think I could at least buy two. One for me and one to scalp (I mean for a close friend with lots of money).

After the Cubs game, we are going to tailgate with our friend Mike Holzman before the Bears game. He has the coveted parking pass to the Waldron Deck at Soldier Field. This is the main parking lot. To get in it, you have to win the lottery and cough up a hefty some of money. Since Holzman is bringing the VIP pass, we realized we need to cough up both the food and beer to pay him back.