Of the 225 sporting events I’ve attended so far in my life, these four games stand out as truly irreplaceable lifelong memories that remind me why this has always been a big part of my life.
4. 2013 Western Conference Semifinals, Game 7: Red Wings @ Blackhawks, May 29, 2013
This was one of those games where the circumstances are simply impossible to create. One of the sport’s most famous rivalries in the playoffs, this Game 7 was the culmination of a 3-1 series comeback from Chicago – as well as the final playoff meeting between the two teams with both clubs playing in the Western Conference.
Unlike the matchup between Detroit and Chicago in the 2009 Western Conference Final, it was Chicago who was the heavy favorite this time, entering the playoffs with the Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s top team while Detroit was looking to knock off their long-time rival before they got to hockey’s final four.
It was immediately clear upon sitting down that the energy in the United Center was different that night – as it remains the loudest I have ever heard the building. The energy felt apparent after the crowd erupted following routine saves in the first period by Corey Crawford – with the building feeling perpetually on the edge of eruption.
After a scoreless first period, the Blackhawks struck first just over a minute into the second period, taking advantage of a Detroit line change as Marian Hossa found Patrick Sharp on a centering pass to give Chicago a 1-0 lead.
Detroit answered back in similar fashion the following period, as Gustav Nyquist located Henrik Zetterberg on a centering pass just 26 seconds into the frame, making for an incredibly tense final period of regulation.
It was also at this moment where the lack of Detroit fans in the building was as conspicuous as ever. Seeing the progress as a fan from full-blown Detroit takeovers in the mid-2000s to gradually seeing fewer and fewer over the years, it all culminated in a raucous Game 7 where the Blackhawks might as well have been playing the Jets when it comes to how many opposing fans were in the house.
The building reached a true fever point with just under two minutes left in regulation, with Niklas Hjalmarsson appearing to give Chicago the lead near the end of the game – before the goal was inexplicably called back due to roughing away from the play between Brandon Saad and Kyle Quincey.
The crowd had initially exploded in jubilation before it quickly turned into vicious anger as it became clear the goal would not count. “Bullshit” chants thunderously echoed through the sold out United Center, leaving myself and 22,102 others in sheer disbelief.
During the intermission between regulation and overtime, I had convinced myself that we had watched Chicago’s best chance to win the game. I attended the game with my dad, one of his colleagues and his colleague’s daughter, while I spent the intermissions meeting up with a classmate of mine who was also attending the game.
Sick to my stomach during the intermission, I took a second to remind myself that no matter what happened, I was watching something truly special – Game 7 playoff overtime hockey. How the fuck could you beat that?
One way is to come out on the winning side, with defenseman Brent Seabrook burying a wrist shot past Jimmy Howard just 3:35 into the first overtime, sealing a series victory and successful 3-1 comeback over the archrival Red Wings.
Following the detonation of the crowd that occurred at the moment of Seabrook’s goal, almost all fans stuck around to watch the traditional series-ending handshake, soaking in not just the end of a series, but the end of nearly a century-long era of consistent meetings between the Blackhawks and the Red Wings.
3. 2017 Western Conference First Round, Game 4: Blackhawks @ Predators, April 20, 2017
It undoubtedly pains me at least a little to come to terms with the fact that the loudest hockey game I’ve ever been to was in fucking Nashville, Tennessee. My seats in an upper deck corner certainly had at least a little bit to do with it, but it’s also hard to sell short how massive of a win this was for the Predators faithful.
The 1 vs. 8 seed matchup in the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Blackhawks were heavily favored to handle their division rivals who barely snuck in – but this series was perfect proof of how you never know what to expect on the ice when springtime arrives.
Nashville made an emphatic statement over the course of the series’ first two games in Chicago, picking up two shutout victories that included a 5-0 romping in front of a stunned crowd in Game 2. While the Hawks certainly looked more formidable in Nashville for Game 3, the team squandered a two-goal lead in the third period before ultimately falling in overtime, digging themselves a 3-0 hole.
I was a junior in college at the time and attended this game with two friends on a trip that also included an unreal Spurs-Grizzlies playoff game I wrote about earlier in this series. Upon getting to downtown Nashville, it was abundantly clear that the energy in and out of the building was simply different this evening.
While I was used to seeing scores of Blackhawks fans in Nashville while watching games on TV, that was not the case on this evening, with a friend and I being the only Chicago fans in a raucous gold-cladded section.
Following a tense first period, Nashville struck first around midway through the second period – and I truly couldn’t believe how fucking loud it was. I could go on and on about how annoying hearing “I LIKE IT, I LOVE IT, I WANT SOME MORE OF IT” after a goal scored by a team you hate is, but it was impossible to deny how deafening the crowd had gotten.
The Predators really lifted the roof off of the Bridgestone Arena in the third period, scoring two goals in around the span of 90 seconds to put a bow on a series sweep against an overwhelming favorite and archrival. Nashville finished off with a 4-1 win, with the final seconds of the game, series and Blackhawks dynasty for that matter resulting in a vociferous roar that persisted through the exits and onto Broadway in downtown Nashville.
Yeah, this wasn’t an enjoyable experience – but being objective, this is the loudest indoor sporting event I’ve ever attended.
2. 2016 NLCS Game 1: Dodgers @ Cubs, October 15, 2016
A magical 2016 season for the Cubs had reached its second stop in the postseason after Chicago dispatched the San Francisco Giants in four games in the NLDS – a series I got to attend the first two games of.
The Cubs remained a decisive favorite against the Dodgers, and it was hard to get a better matchup for Game 1 as ace Jon Lester faced off against Kenta Maeda for Los Angeles.
After getting incredibly lucky myself and winning the team ticket lottery for the NLDS, my dad won it for the NLCS, nabbing tickets towards the outfield along the third base line that were stronger than what we had for Game 1 of the previous series – though still with some obstructed sightlines.
The game looked to be going incredibly smoothly at first – the Cubs got on the board in the first inning before making an out and then added two more runs in the second inning, including an unreal steal of home by Javier Báez.
The Dodgers eventually fought back, cutting into the deficit with an Andre Ethier solo home run in the fifth inning before finding the equalizer on a two-out, two-run single from Adrián González in the top of the eighth – turning a party-like atmosphere into one fraught with anxiety and trepidation.
To make matters worse for the Cubs, González’s single came off of closer Aroldis Chapman, leaving the Cubs with a taxed arm at best for the ninth inning of a tie game – if it got to that point.
A leadoff double from Ben Zobrist in the eighth inning preceded a pair of intentional walks to Jason Heyward and Chris Coghlan while Addison Russell and Báez made outs, leaving the bases loaded with two outs.
With Coghlan pinch-hitting for catcher David Ross, Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts moved to get Chapman out of the game, walking Coghlan to force Chapman’s spot in the lineup to the plate – which was taken by fellow Cubs catcher Miguel Montero.
After falling behind 0-2 to Joe Blanton, Montero made it very clear that he can fooled once, maybe even twice – but you’d be damned if you tried the same pitch a third time:
This is one of those moments that will stick with me for the rest of my life. With my dad and I both expecting a strikeout, Montero blasted a ball that felt like it was in the air for a year – I’ll never forget looking over at my dad and seeing a legitimate look of shock on his face, looking so shocked that it actually made me doubt that Montero got all of it.
But maybe that sense of shock is just the feeling of a lifelong Cubs fan who lived through the heartbreaks of 1969, 1984 and 2003 – even sitting six rows behind Steve Bartman as the Cubs fumbled it all away in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS.
This time, my dad was at Wrigley for something a whole lot different, and it’s the privilege of a lifetime to have been able to experience that together. As is the case with just about every baseball fan you can find in America, it all began with my dad. It remains the thing we talk about the most to this day – and it’s safe to say that witnessing a moment of jubilation like this one with the person that made you fall in love with baseball in the first place is a true full circle moment that only feels possible in the movies.
Beneath the deafening roar that took hold over Clark and Addison in that moment, half the crowd was still wrapped up in their celebrations when Dexter Fowler launched the very next pitch into the right field stands, turning what looked like it could have been an extra-inning marathon into an 8-3 Cubs lead.
Chicago held on to win Game 1 8-4, and ultimately won the series in six games – with my dad in attendance 13 years after getting his heart shattered the last time the Cubs made it to Game 6 of the NLCS. This time and this year, it was all different.
1. 2016 World Series, Game 5: Indians @ Cubs, October 30, 2016
I mean, where do I even begin?
It will forever blow my mind that I got to attend a game like this as a 20-year-old, the kind of thing that is and will always be a dream come true. I had in my mind that if the Cubs ever did make the World Series that making it to a game would mean that I would have won the lottery.
A couple weeks before the series, my college best friend and roommate had told me his dad asked him if he wanted to go to the World Series – alluding to the likely historic nature the Fall Classic would have if the Cubs and Indians proceeded as they were expected to.
My friend had a decorated history of attending big-time sporting events, having been to Game 7 of the 2011 World Series in St. Louis and the 2008 NCAA Division 1 Men’s championship game. Sports were his biggest interest long before we ever met each other and shared our pastime together, despite the fact that he is a diehard Cardinals fan owing to his origins in Memphis, the home of St. Louis’ Triple-A affiliate.
My friend’s dad asked him if he wanted one or two tickets to this potential World Series game, to which he responded two, explaining to his dad how much of a Cubs fan I was and how I lived, breathed and slept baseball. To this day, remembering this conversation puts me in disbelief, because it’s true generosity at its highest level.
Many of my friend’s other close friends were big Cubs fans and were also fraternity brothers with him, while I was not. We were (and are) just two dudes incredibly addicted to baseball, and I owe him and his family a lifetime of gratitude for making this experience possible for the both of us – we remain bonded for life by sharing this incredible memory together.
Now as for the game itself –
Everything was looking up when we made our trip up to the Chicago area on the day of Game 3, with the series tied at one game apiece. We had our tickets ready to go, keeping open the possibility that we could see the Cubs possibly clinch the World Series title at Wrigley Field if they went on to win Games 3 and 4.
Simply put, that did not happen.
The Cubs were dealt an anxiety-filled 1-0 loss at Wrigley Field in Game 3 before getting ran out of the park late in Game 4, losing 7-2 and putting Chicago in a 3-1 hole with just one game left at Wrigley Field.
When we were on our way to the park that Sunday, I had to try and temper what was truly uncontrollable anxiety, teetering between normal anxiety and a full-blown panic attack – the latter of which I was dealing with frequently at the time.
I kept telling myself that I was going to see one of two things, equally amazing for a lifelong fan of baseball: The Cubs were either going to extend the series and win a World Series game at Wrigley Field for the first time since 1945, or I was going to watch the then-Indians win their first World Series since 1948, while getting to take in a trophy ceremony. Either way, I was in for a night I’d remember the rest of my life.
Walking up to Wrigley Field that day, everything felt like a spectacle. It was a chilly night with the streets outside the park looking like a sea of blue for as far as the eye could see. After walking into the park, it became crystal clear that this was a 1-of-1 type of experience.
Even after going to other playoff games at Wrigley Field, the grandiosity behind this game was something unlike anything I had ever experienced before or since. Extra media members were seated in one of the upper deck sections as celebrites and other notable names perused throughout the concourses while “In the Air Tonight” blared through the speakers.
The seats were packed for the 20 minutes prior to gametime, with the intensity of what I was about to watch finally hitting me. Feeling like I was about to throw up as panic swept over my body, I took the two 5mg valium tablets I brought with me to keep myself from getting thrown out of the place for throwing up on another fan.
Did it actually calm me down at all? That’s debatable.
While Cubs ace Jon Lester cruised through the first inning, a shockwave of silence was sent through the park in the second after José Ramírez launched a ball into the left field bleachers, giving Cleveland a 1-0 lead while making their hopes of hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy that evening feel all the more real.
You could hear your own heartbeat after that home run and in the inning and a half that followed, with anxiety greatly building as the game moved to the middle innings. With the heart of the order up again for the Cubs and star reliever Andrew Miller looming in the bullpen, time was of the essence for Chicago to get back into the game.
Thanks to a heroic swing by that year’s NL MVP Kris Bryant, that’s exactly what happened:
Bryant’s frozen rope just made it into the left field bleachers to tie the game, turning what felt like a funeral into a true madhouse – blending perfectly into “Intoxicated” by Martin Solveig as Anthony Rizzo walked up to the plate right afterwards before drilling a double off the wall himself – one that looked like another home run off the bat.
The crowd didn’t leave their feet for the rest of the inning as the Cubs continued to rally, posting two more runs thanks to an infield single from Addison Russell and a sacrifice fly from David Ross in the final home game of his MLB career.
With two outs and two strikes in the sixth inning, Francisco Lindor managed to get a run back for Cleveland with an RBI single that drove home Rajai Davis, putting the score at 3-2 in favor of Chicago with 10 more outs to get.
After catching Lindor stealing to end the inning, Carl Edwards Jr. replaced Jon Lester on the mound and ran into some immediate trouble, allowing a leadoff single to Mike Napoli who then moved to second base on a passed ball. Following a Carlos Santana flyout, Cubs skipper Joe Maddon made a ballsy call with the season on the line – go for an eight-out save from Aroldis Chapman.
Though an often overlooked performance when looking at the 2016 Cubs, Chapman’s 42-pitch, eight-out Game 5 save stands out to me as one of the most impressive postseason relief performances of all-time. Clinging to a one-run lead and hopes of ending a 108-year championship drought, Chapman singlehandedly saved the Cubs season on that chilly October night – most impressively stranding Rajai Davis at third base in the top of the eighth inning by freezing Francisco Lindor at the plate to maintain a 3-2 lead.
After the Cubs stranded a runner on third base themselves in the bottom of the eighth, Chapman returned to the mound in the ninth inning and retired all three batters in order on 12 pitches, securing the Cubs’ first and only World Series win at Wrigley Field since 1945.
The eruption of the crowd as Chapman struck out Ramírez to end the game was unlike anything else I’ve heard in my life – beyond being perhaps the loudest moment I’ve ever experienced at a sporting event, it was also the most emotional.
Looking around while “Go Cubs Go” pumped through the Wrigley Field speakers was the experience of a lifetime. Generations of Cubs fans, ranging from great-grandparents who had seen it all to kids who hadn’t quite acquainted themselves to the pain yet, were screaming and singing in joy – celebrating the fact that this ride wasn’t quite over yet.
It was also hard to not think of it all as an incredible celebration of what that season meant to Cubs fans and the city of Chicago, watching 41,711 fans take in the irreplaceable, beautiful atmosphere of Wrigley Field one last time before what we all hoped would be a winter and offseason of celebration.
And that it was, as the Cubs went on to win the final two games of the series to win their first World Series title in 108 years, winning Game 7 in Cleveland by a score of 8-7 in 10 innings.
For as long as I live, I don’t think I’ll go to another two games that meant as much to me as this game and Game 1 of the NLCS that I took in with my dad. They serve as my real-life proof that it’s all more than just a game – and when I think of memories that will last a lifetime that I shared with both my best friend and my father, this is what will come to mind before anything else.
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