07-27-2010, 04:19 PM
My first Cubs game was at Wrigley -- I'm sure of that -- but a lot of the first dozen or so games I went to all sort of blend together in my head. I probably went to 20 games or more by the time I was eight years old. I distinctly remember getting a free Cubs shirt with a Thorn Apple Valley logo on the back as one of the giveaways. I loved that shirt and probably wore it twice a week that summer. I remember sitting in the bleachers with my friends and wondering why there were corn husks all over the ground (I'm still unsure why there were all those corn husks). One game we went to, my brother and I were there for batting practice and sitting right next to the entrance to the Cubs' dugout. Lee Smith was on his way back off the field and my brother and I were screaming to get his autograph. He smiled and gave my brother a broken bat. It was Keith Moreland's. That was pretty much the most awesome thing that ever happened to us. I remember trying to go to as many games as possible in September in 1982 when Buckner was trying to get his 200th hit (which was hard with, you know, school). I saw hit 197th or 198th or something around there. I videotaped every game when he got close to 200. He eventually got it against the Cardinals. I watched that game on video so many times that I literally had every word Harry and Steve spoke memorized. I went to Game 1 of the NLCS against the Padres in 1984. After that game, I was certain the Cubs were going to win it all. That year was the first of many times the Cubs brought tears to my eyes.