Constable: Ditka was there, but again it's Cubs at Wrigley in October
Once upon a time, October in Wrigley Field meant baseball had yielded to football and fans could cheer as Chicago Bears' rumbling tight-end Mike Ditka bounced off defenders on his way to the end zone. On Monday afternoon, the legendary Ditka limped onto Wrigley Field to tell the crowd it's time to "Play Ball!" because the Chicago Cubs are playing postseason baseball for the third straight season.
For a while it looked as if an unearned run after a costly fumble by Cubs' left-fielder Kyle Schwarber, who is built like a linebacker, would be the only score of the game. But Schwarber's replacement, Albert Almora Jr., singled in Ben Zobrist to tie it in the seventh inning, slugger Anthony Rizzo singled in the lead run in the eighth, and closer Wade Davis shut down the Nationals in the ninth for a 2-1 Cubs win. If the Cubs win Tuesday's game at Wrigley, they'll advance to the National League championship series and play for another chance to go to the World Series.
Wearing a Brian Urlacher Bears jersey and a Bears hat and going to Monday night's Bears game at Soldier Field, Round Lake Beach native Robert Rezek had to make a stop first at Wrigley Field to root on the Cubs.
"I'm more excited about the Cubs. How can you not be?" says Rezek, 45, who now lives in Phoenix. The Cubs are at the top of the Chicago sports pyramid these days.
"There's the almighty Trubisky," Rezek says, referring to the Bears' rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who is making his first NFL start Monday night. "And the Blackhawks are amazing. But these are the World Champion Cubs."
The debut of a 23-year-old quarterback is exciting, Rezek admits, but he notes the Cubs are loaded with 23-year-olds who already have some professional highlights. Almora Jr. and Addison Russell both made the highlight reel of last year's World Series. Born eight days before Trubisky, Ian Happ slugged 24 homers for the Cubs before Trubisky got to throw his first official NFL regular-season pass.
"Trubisky? Who's that?" quipped Bradley S. Rosen, a partner in the SportsWorld shop across from Wrigley Field, where most of the Bears gear is on sale at a discount price and fans still are stocking up on Cubs hats and jerseys. "We're still selling championship stuff from last year. The honeymoon isn't over."
If first-round draft picks are the key, the Cubs boast Almora, Happ, Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Javier Baez, Addison Russell and Jason Heyward. Built to win last year's championship, they are loaded for this postseason and several more. The Cubs have won 309 games (including the postseason) in the last three years. So far.
"There's a little buzz about Mitch starting at quarterback," said Freddy Fagenholz, general manager of Murphy's Bleachers across the street from Wrigley Field, where the Bears were shown on TV after the Cubs' win. "But the talk is all about the Cubs."
Fittingly so. The Cubs are young, talented and are striving for a second consecutive championship. Football season will have to wait.