Thursday night I did something I rarely do when I have a ticket at the corner of Clark and Addison, I watched the game from Gallagher Way. It was a wild experience in a number of ways and one I’ll certainly do again someday. Aside from the video board being slightly delayed, I found the audio of the experience delightful. Hearing the crowd roar over the broadcast was brilliant, and a cornucopia for a different sense than I usually get watching the game in-person or on TV.
The moment that really highlighted
this for me was this:
The roar that erupted from Wrigley Field as Caleb Williams, Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis were shown cheering on MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong behind the dugout was unlike any roar I’ve heard at Wrigley Field. There are only two sounds I recall from games at the corner of Clark and Addison that compare to that moment: one I heard in person from the 200s in the grandstand and the other I heard in person on my couch before I saw what happened on TV.
The first was David Bote’s ultimate grand slam, the second was Christopher Morel’s walkoff against the White Sox. You can get an idea of that audio from this incredible cut Cubs productions released the next day:
What was wild about last night’s moment of sound, however, was that it didn’t accompany a magical moment when the Cubs solidified an improbable victory. It was more a moment of the city’s sports vibes coming into their own. The culmination of a series events that have been building around Chicago’s young sports stars for the past year. A situation that PCA played no small part in orchestrating this offseason, long before he heard the MVP chants at Wrigley Field. Sahadev Sharma captured the series of events well for The Athletic last night:
After the seventh-inning stretch, Williams, Wilson and Buzelis were shown on the video board, and the crowd erupted.
“Awesome having them here,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I felt the energy from the crowd when they got put on the board. Chicago’s got a lot to look forward to with those three.”
The support hasn’t gone just one way. Crow-Armstrong has attended many Chicago sporting events and consistently showed up to Bears games last season as the team made a surprise playoff run.
“It’s important,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I think it’s just huge having guys show up and support each other. What everybody doesn’t see is we genuinely like each other as well. That in itself, just the friendship alone, is great. I’m lucky to have that. To be able to show this city we’re all pulling for each other and all believe in each other is huge.”
It’s been a minute since the entire city felt like a sports town to be reckoned with, but with the Bears playoff run last year and both the Cubs and White Sox looking like probable postseason participants as September begins, the sports vibes all over Chicago have rarely been higher. I admit, I found myself wondering what Bill Swerski’s Superfans might have to say about this one:
Pete Crow-Armstrong would hit 75 home runs. Caleb Williams would be undefeated. Da Bulls would be considering a minimum eight-peat all over again. Obviously I jest, but only a bit. While part of what makes Swerski’s Superfans so excellent is the audacity to believe Da Bears could win on Thanksgiving Day during the 90’s let alone the possibility they’d be up 96-14 at the half.
Scores and specifics aside, this is a moment where fans of the teams in Chicago have not just hope, but elite young talent they can build around for years into the future. The Cubs might have one of the best center fielders of a generation putting together their first 40-40 season in the 150-year history of the franchise. The Bears have an exciting young quarterback leading a team projected to finish first or second in the NFC North. The White Sox have a three-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians, and if the playoffs started today they’d have a bye into the Division Series. They also have Chicago Pope on their side and who can underestimate that?
Last night the Cubs won a game on Pete Crow-Armstrong’s 39th home run. It’s a hit that put him second on the single season Cubs home runs hit by a lefty list behind Hall of Famer Billy Williams. PCA is sitting at 9.4 fWAR with 21 games left to play as the Cubs open a series against Wild Card hopeful Miami on the road. He’s already solidified one of the best Cubs seasons of all time and pulling away in the National League MVP conversation against a generational talent in Shohei Ohtani. And it’s all coming together at a moment where elite Chicago sports energy permeates every neighborhood in the city.
Game on.
