Written by Bradford Doolittle at ESPN.com
It took a while, more than most denizens of Wrigley Field were willing to wait, but Anthony Rizzo made sure the ending of the Chicago Cubs’ banner night was as memorable as the beginning. Amazing, in fact.
For a while, Monday felt like Cubs fantasyland, with the sun out, the temperature warm for early April and hordes of blue-clad fans descending on Wrigleyville to raise a banner 108 years in the making. Then, about two hours before the game, the sky opened up, and fans checking out the brand-new Park at Wrigley adjacent to the stadium had to scurry for cover. The rain eventually stopped, and the party resumed.
Then about an hour before game time, just as Cubs architect Theo Epstein was talking to the media in front of the dugout, the wind changed direction and, in an instant, early arrivals in the stands began reaching for their jackets. The cold air was followed by a storm, delaying the ceremonies for nearly two hours and threatening to put a damper on the much-anticipated evening. From the looks of the stands, virtually no one gave up hope, because when introductions finally began, Wrigley Field was filled to capacity.
“It was a special night,” Cubs starter Jon Lester said. “Something that will go down in my book that I’ll remember for a long, long time.”
As a team, the Cubs headed into center field. One by one they disappeared through a door in the center-field wall to raise their flags, joined by franchise legends Ryne Sandberg, Billy Williams and Ferguson Jenkins. When they re-emerged, Rizzo led the way with the golden World Series trophy held aloft. Fireworks went off, David Ross’ appearance on “Dancing with the Stars” flashed on the video board, Wayne Messmer sang, AC/DC blared on the sound system and the 41,166 in attendance went nuts.
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