Pittsburgh Pirates @ Chicago Cubs (game 1, part 1)

The flight arrived on time and within 20 minutes of touching down, I was on a CTA Blue train heading towards downtown Chicago.   A quick change of line at Jackson and I was able to get to my hotel at around 12.15pm and was able to check in immediately, which was fortunate.  So I changed clothes and set off straight away for Wrigley Field.

The Red train was packed, as usual, but it's not far up to the Addison stop for Wrigley Field.  My seat was right at the back of section 524 - that's next to the media centre, right at the back and right at the top.  Fortunately, there is a roof over the seats, although it is open to the elements, which was a relief, as there was a lovely breeze up there which was enjoyable on the hot day.   It's also an excellent place to watch a game from, apart from the pillars supporting the roof.  My ticket cost $14 for that seat - a true bargain.  I was too late for the giveaway, which was a Greg Maddux bobblehead - but I'd not have had anywhere to put it anyway - I'd have had to post it home!

This game had two more firsts for me.  The first of these was a rain delay with no rain - more specifically, the extremely dark clouds were gathering and the chief groundsman had spoken at length with the umpiring crew chief during a break in play and when the first flash of lightning occurred, the game was halted immediately, the tarp was put on the field, and people in the exposed areas of seating were instructed to move under cover.  As far as I could tell, no rain fell and half an hour later or so, the game restarted.  Then in the top of the 7th inning, the clouds gathered quickly and this time there was a deluge and the grounds crew covered everything as fast as possible and then we sat and watched lightning and heavy rain for a time, and then the rain stopped.  An hour and a half after the break started, a couple of the umpires and the head groundsman walked around the edge of the tarp, inspecting the condition of the grass and having returned to home plate, signalled that they were suspending the game - the first time I've been a suspended game.  So the game will resume at 2pm on Saturday, then we may or may not get turfed out the stadium and have to re-enter for the Saturday game which was originally scheduled for 3pm.

During the break, I obtained a celebrity autograph!  Well, I say celebrity,  but Tom Ricketts, owner of the Cubs, was walking around the concourse meeting people, signing autographs, having his photo taken with people.  It's nice to see the owner out and about and actually meeting the real fans - especially when it's the fans in the cheap seats.

Dark clouds threatened much but no rain the first time

Some people were already wet, others had it covered