Fans

This past Friday, I attended the Cub-Brewer game at Miller Park. It is always an interesting experience there with the bitter rival of the two cities. It's not so much about the teams, but more about the fans and how they interact together. I am a Cub fan, so I am extremely biased on one side.

My boyfriend and I got to the game about two and a half hours before the game started, and had nothing to do. So we watched the tailgate party next to us down some beers, play some games, and grill up some food. This group was hardcore Brewers fans, and they had shirts to show it. The shirt depicted Bernie the Brewer stepping on a bear with blood coming out of it. To me that was a little extreme, but I didn't let it bother me.

It was a hot day so I wore a tank top under my Ryan Theriot jersey, and ended up carrying my jersey the majority of the pre-game. With about an hour left before the game, we started to walk towards the stadium over the bridge. We had just crossed the bridge when I was greeted (not friendly) by the number four hot dog from the sausage races. He came up to me and tried to grab my jersey from my hands. This was no joking fight to me, because he was pulling pretty hard, but I wasn't going to let him take my jersey. We walked into the stadium and went to get some food and find our seats. About an hour later Danny Goeky was singing the National Anthem and throwing out the first pitch.

The game goes on, and the beer vendors pass us by. We were surrounded by Brewer fans this game, and some of them were pretty intense. The lady behind us was screaming so loud it was impossible to believe she could still scream at the end of the game, and the man next to her was completely wasted. This was not the highlight of my day, but it came when Milton Bradley made an amazing catch. An already extremely drunk Brewer fan got so mad he got up from his seat, went into the aisle, threw his margarita on the ground and walked away. The rest of the game i sat with wet pants and burning skin from this drunk man I wanted to punch in the face.

Everybody knows the Cubs lost, and those drunk Brewer fans made sure us Cub fans knew that. I was sure I was going to have some drunk Brewer fans yelling profanities at me and saying 'Cubs suck!' while we were still in the stadium, but to my surprise I made it out without a word to me. I did not totally escape the drunkeness of these fans though. On our way back to the bridge this wasted man yelled to me, "Hey Theriot! Cubs lost!" When I replied to him saying, "So what." He persisted to say, "There are only 160 some games left! It's almost over and the Cubs suck!" So then I replied to him for the last time, "It's still early in the season. Just wait until September." I got no reply from this man but a puzzled look on his face. Talking to my boyfriend at the time this man started talking to me, was a kid about our age asking us how we get along because he is a Brewer fan and I am a Cub fan. He was drunk, but the first nice, friendly, drunk encounter which I am sure I will never see agian at Miller Park. People like that come a dime a dozen.

Well it's not over yet. As we broke away from the pack to walk down to the lot where our car was parked, the people we had watched down the beers and play games, were already by their cars and even more drunk and obnoxious than before. This one woman, a Brewer fan of course, yelled to me, "Hey you SUCK go back to Chicago where you belong dumbass!" I was very tempted to tell her that I am not the dumbass, she is, but I resisted. Instead i shrugged my shoulders with my arms out in a 'whatever' fashion. She preceeded to yell to me even though I was only but inches away from here at this point, "Yeah, you're cool you stupid idiot!" I walked past her and said, "I am home" which I got yet another puzzled look from her. Then under my breath i said, "At least I don't have to get drunk to have fun." But one of them men in the group must have heard me, because he turned to look at me. I got in the car and slammed the door. That was the last I heard from them.

I really dislike Miller Park because of one thing; the drinking. I have yet to have a good time at Miller Park because of all the drunk Brewer fans finding the need to do more and more stupid things, that just make the whole experience that much worse. I always tell myself that I am NEVER going to go back there for a game, but it is so close and I love to go to games, that I will take what I can get. We payed $25 to park the car, why don't they get smart and raise the beer prices instead of the parking. Parking is a one-time charge for the game, and so many Brewer fans get so drunk that they will spend so much money on beer, no matter the price. Basically Miller Park is a hell-hole for drunk idiots to drink and drink and drink, and ruin other people's experience at the games.