Lake in the Hills dad, daughter get Cubs tickets after 20 hours in line
Mike Lyp was a little lethargic Monday at work.
"Yeah, I'm dragging butt," he told the Chicago Sun-Times. "But I'm happy."
He'd had a long 36 hours. Lyp, 44, a tow-truck driver from Lake in the Hills, and his 12-year-old daughter Shelly waited in line overnight starting the previous Saturday, on a whim, to buy face-value tickets to Game 5 of the World Series Sunday from the box office at Wrigley Field, where last-minute tickets were sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
Rain showers in the wee hours took a toll on their Cubs face paint. Then, the cold set in.
And, as day broke, a crush of people - including homeless men ticket-brokers paid to stand in line for them - arrived and didn't respect the line, Lyp said.
"It was a free-for-all," he said. "So my daughter yelled, 'Hey! We waited here in the rain all night! Get behind us!'"
Someone in the crowd threatened her, and Lyp nearly lost it.
But everyone cooled down, and the Lyps ended up at the front of the line. After about 20 hours of waiting, they got their World Series tickets - standing-room-only in right field near a row of skyboxes.
• This report was produced in partnership with the Chicago Sun-Times. For related coverage, check chicago.suntimes.com.