Editor’s note: This piece is from BP-Wrigleyville author Scott Lindholm. Normally Scott will deliver some pretty hardcore analysis on these pages, but for his debut piece, Scott decided to look on the lighter side of Sunday evening and share his daughters’ experience on Opening Night; focusing not on the game, but like many 20-somethings would, on the opening act of Fall Out Boy, of course.
The Cubs begin a season with as much anticipation as I can recall in my lifetime as a Cubs fan, which goes back to 1970. As the father of two 20-something daughters who are huge Fall Out Boy (FOB) fans, one of whom lives within walking distance of Wrigley Field, I decided to get a first-person account of the Fall Out Boy “concert” that preceded the game.
Daughter No. 2 is on the left, No. 1 on the right, and this picture was taken before FOB performed at Lincoln Hall last January. For those unfamiliar with FOB, our girls’ faces are painted in homage to their latest album “American Beauty/American Psycho.”
The plan was for Daughter No. 2 to go down to Wrigley and try to listen to the concert at the least, and with any luck, watch it from Sheffield Avenue on the huge new video board in left field. She didn’t need to even make the trek—she lives close enough that when the organ plays it can be heard at her place, but—did I mention she was a FOB fan? Daughter No. 1 heard these plans, and since she’s a teacher whose school doesn’t have class on Monday, decided to attend as well.
I watched at home, and ESPN2 only showed “Centuries,” but FOB also played “Uma Thurman” and “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light ‘em up).” Bass player Pete Wentz was a student at DePaul, and the band hails from the north suburbs, and Wentz in particular is a huge Cubs fan—hence the reason he was wearing a Cubs jersey. There’s no reasonable explanation for the pink hair.
It’s interesting to note that in a tight shot, the view from the video board was almost the same size as the actual group, putting the true size of the board in perspective.
This is what my daughters were able to see outside Wrigley:
These pictures were taken from Sheffield and Addison, looking through an opening in right field into the video board in left. The man in the Phillies hat is a mystery to us all.
They heard the National Anthem (Wayne Messmer, doing his usual outstanding job), but couldn’t hear FOB. As FOB savants, they recognized the songs by the way it looked on the video board—from across the street and half a ball park away. Most people were coming and going, but they ran across a couple of other people doing the same thing they were, checking out FOB for free.
It wasn’t a pretty game, losing 3-0 and going 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position. The defense was sketchy, and Jon Lester didn’t look like a pitcher worthy of $155 million over the next seven years, but that’s nothing compared to… Fall Out Boy playing three songs at Wrigley!
As the warm-ups were concluding tonight, I heard Van Halen’s “Jump” playing, and it took me back to 1984 and the first time I lived in the Chicago area. I know where I was on June 23 when the Cubs defeated the Cardinals in 11 innings and gave hope to fans that maybe, just maybe, this team was for real. I’m not sure this is the year for the Cubs, but they’re heading in the right direction. As Baseball Prospectus Wrigleyville takes shape, an interesting meld of analysis and fandom will occur, something a bit unusual for me as a numbers guy. I’ll be able to take my analytical bent and add that element of hope and fervent wish—in short, I can be a fan and a stat nerd.
I hope I’m not making a promise I can’t keep, but this could be a great year to be a Cubs fan. I’ll do my best to make it a great season at BP Wrigleyville as well.
FOB was very difficult to hear in the ballpark as well – or at least, it was from where I sat in the corner of the upper deck. Disappointing.