MLB Chatter Thread

E_D_Guapo

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It's not even my team, but this gave me chills.
That was really cool. Wrigelyville was absolutely nuts on Sunday night after the Cubs won to stay alive and pull the series to 3–2. Can't imagine what it was like last night.
 

Cotton

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Man Drove 600 Miles To Listen To Cubs Win With His Father At His Grave, Keeping His Promise

I’ve long said that if you’re not going to root for the same sports teams as your father, then what’s the point? At the end of the day, sports are just a bunch of people cheering for shirts and colors. Professional athletes move from team to team and never really give the fans a second thought. At the end of the day, sports are hollow. But not when you root for the same team as your father. When you root for the same team as your dad, sports becomes more than a game, it becomes a tradition. It becomes a way for your family to bond. It brings you and your father closer. That’s what sports are all about, and Wayne Williams knows that.

Wayne Williams, a North Carolina man, drove 600 miles back home to Indiana to keep a decades-old promise to his father. Williams’ father, a Navy veteran, died at age 53 in 1980.

“The gate was open,” he says as he drives in.

He’s not at the ballpark. He’s watching it with his dad.

“Got a W flag. Not supposed to fly until after the actual win,” Williams said, going over his supplies.

His dad, also named Wayne Williams, was waiting for him.

“I talked it out with my boys forever. I let them know that I told my dad – we had a pact. When the Cubs – not if, when – the Cubs got into the World Series, we would make sure we listen to the games together,” Williams said.

Look, dad, here’s your son, keeping his part of the bargain.

Williams set up camp in the military section of Greenwood Forest Lawn Cemetery after an all-day drive from North Carolina.

His dad died at age 53 in 1980. A Navy veteran.

“World War II, he was a signalman,” Williams said. “He was at Normandy, D-Day +8. He had not turned 18 yet.”

It may have been the Navy that made his dad a Cubs fan.

“I think it was because when he was at boot camp at Great Lakes. He probably went to some games, because Wrigley’s brought the guys out there for these things and it was the closest thing to big-time baseball he’d ever seen,” Williams said.

His dad was a loyal Cubs fan.

“’69 broke his heart,” he said. “If he hadn’t been dead in (1984), that would’ve done it for him.

“I’ll never forget one day he said, start of the season, I forget what year it was, ‘This is going to be our year. This is going to be our year. We’re going to be 500.'”

We asked Wayne if he thinks big Wayne is up there following the game with him.

“Knowing him, no. He was a hell raiser, baby. He was a hell raiser,” Williams said.

Enjoying a little heaven tonight.
 

dallen

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Not to get too existential, but the Rangers and Astros don't even have the mystique and national identity of curses and lovable losers. In 2005, the national narrative clearly centered on the Black Sox and all that.
I feel like the Astros, Rangers and Indians should fight it out.
 

Rev

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Man Drove 600 Miles To Listen To Cubs Win With His Father At His Grave, Keeping His Promise

I’ve long said that if you’re not going to root for the same sports teams as your father, then what’s the point? At the end of the day, sports are just a bunch of people cheering for shirts and colors. Professional athletes move from team to team and never really give the fans a second thought. At the end of the day, sports are hollow. But not when you root for the same team as your father. When you root for the same team as your dad, sports becomes more than a game, it becomes a tradition. It becomes a way for your family to bond. It brings you and your father closer. That’s what sports are all about, and Wayne Williams knows that.

Wayne Williams, a North Carolina man, drove 600 miles back home to Indiana to keep a decades-old promise to his father. Williams’ father, a Navy veteran, died at age 53 in 1980.

“The gate was open,” he says as he drives in.

He’s not at the ballpark. He’s watching it with his dad.

“Got a W flag. Not supposed to fly until after the actual win,” Williams said, going over his supplies.

His dad, also named Wayne Williams, was waiting for him.

“I talked it out with my boys forever. I let them know that I told my dad – we had a pact. When the Cubs – not if, when – the Cubs got into the World Series, we would make sure we listen to the games together,” Williams said.

Look, dad, here’s your son, keeping his part of the bargain.

Williams set up camp in the military section of Greenwood Forest Lawn Cemetery after an all-day drive from North Carolina.

His dad died at age 53 in 1980. A Navy veteran.

“World War II, he was a signalman,” Williams said. “He was at Normandy, D-Day +8. He had not turned 18 yet.”

It may have been the Navy that made his dad a Cubs fan.

“I think it was because when he was at boot camp at Great Lakes. He probably went to some games, because Wrigley’s brought the guys out there for these things and it was the closest thing to big-time baseball he’d ever seen,” Williams said.

His dad was a loyal Cubs fan.

“’69 broke his heart,” he said. “If he hadn’t been dead in (1984), that would’ve done it for him.

“I’ll never forget one day he said, start of the season, I forget what year it was, ‘This is going to be our year. This is going to be our year. We’re going to be 500.'”

We asked Wayne if he thinks big Wayne is up there following the game with him.

“Knowing him, no. He was a hell raiser, baby. He was a hell raiser,” Williams said.

Enjoying a little heaven tonight.
So awesome. My dad passed away before the Rangers made the series. He passed away just a little bit before the Rangers made it so I don't think I could have handled doing something like this at that time. In the future just maybe.
 

E_D_Guapo

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How about Theo Epstein? Broke the Curse of the Bambino and the Curse of the Billy Goat. What else could he possibly do in MLB?
I think there might be a team in Cleveland that would love to have him running things...
 

NoDak

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It's not even my team, but this gave me chills.
That was awesome.

I've always been a Twins fan, but Harry Caray made me a Cubs fan, too. Back in the 80's, the only time I ever got to actually see a baseball game on TV besides the occasional Saturday afternoon game, was when I'd be at a friends house in town that had cable. And he was a Cubs fan, so I was introduced to Harry and the Cubs. I thought he was great from the first time I heard him, and always managed to catch a few games each year just to hear him call it. I'm happy for Cubs fans all over the world that they finally won one. But I think I'm most happy for him.
 

dallen

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I used to watch a lot of Harry Caray and Cubs games because they were on WGN all the time. I'm not going to jump on the bandwagon and claim to be a life long fan, but I've always had a soft spot for them. One of my life long dreams has been to catch a game at Wrigley Field. If I weren't a Rangers fan I'd have probably become a Cubs fan so I'm glad they finally won one.
 

Cotton

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That was awesome.

I've always been a Twins fan, but Harry Caray made me a Cubs fan, too. Back in the 80's, the only time I ever got to actually see a baseball game on TV besides the occasional Saturday afternoon game, was when I'd be at a friends house in town that had cable. And he was a Cubs fan, so I was introduced to Harry and the Cubs. I thought he was great from the first time I heard him, and always managed to catch a few games each year just to hear him call it. I'm happy for Cubs fans all over the world that they finally won one. But I think I'm most happy for him.
Yep, same here. He was one of the reasons I was pulling for them to win it.
 

E_D_Guapo

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That was awesome.

I've always been a Twins fan, but Harry Caray made me a Cubs fan, too. Back in the 80's, the only time I ever got to actually see a baseball game on TV besides the occasional Saturday afternoon game, was when I'd be at a friends house in town that had cable. And he was a Cubs fan, so I was introduced to Harry and the Cubs. I thought he was great from the first time I heard him, and always managed to catch a few games each year just to hear him call it. I'm happy for Cubs fans all over the world that they finally won one. But I think I'm most happy for him.
Harry Caray was a huge part of the soundtrack of my childhood. I met him once at a game that my Little League team traveled to. By the time I was an adult and living near the Wrigleyville neighborhood and attending several games a season, he had begun to go downhill quite a bit (his age was really beginning to show and he seemed drunk quite a bit) but was still as beloved as ever. He died about a month or so before I moved to Texas and I went up to the memorial for him at Wrigley. My wife met him as well when she was young because she used to babysit for the kids of a Cubs front office guy and got to go to Cubs Caravan and other public events.

He was something else. He really became the identity of the franchise and that is pretty hard to do for a broadcaster (and probably wouldn't have happened had the teams been better at that time, but whatever...he was larger than life). I saw earlier on Twitter that people have recently put Cubs memorabilia and green apples on his grave.
 
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Kbrown

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Harry Caray was a huge part of the soundtrack of my childhood. I met him once at a game that my Little League team traveled to. By the time I was an adult and living near the Wrigleyville neighborhood and attending several games a season, he had begun to go downhill quite a bit (his age was really beginning to show and he seemed drunk quite a bit) but was still as beloved as ever. He died about a month or so before I moved to Texas and I went up to the memorial for him at Wrigley. My wife met him as well when she was young because she used to babysit for the kids of a Cubs front office guy and got to go to Cubs Caravan and other public events.

He was something else. He really became the identity of the franchise and that is pretty hard to do for a broadcaster (and probably wouldn't have happened had the teams been better at that time, but whatever...he was larger than life). I saw earlier on Twitter that people have recently put Cubs memorabilia and green apples on his grave.
That retro Bud commercial they ran with him after the game made me nostalgic for childhood, and I didn't even grow up a Cubs fan. That was cool.
 

Cotton

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Harry Caray was a huge part of the soundtrack of my childhood. I met him once at a game that my Little League team traveled to. By the time I was an adult and living near the Wrigleyville neighborhood and attending several games a season, he had begun to go downhill quite a bit (his age was really beginning to show and he seemed drunk quite a bit) but was still as beloved as ever. He died about a month or so before I moved to Texas and I went up to the memorial for him at Wrigley. My wife met him as well when she was young because she used to babysit for the kids of a Cubs front office guy and got to go to Cubs Caravan and other public events.

He was something else. He really became the identity of the franchise and that is pretty hard to do for a broadcaster (and probably wouldn't have happened had the teams been better at that time, but whatever...he was larger than life). I saw earlier on Twitter that people have recently put Cubs memorabilia and green apples on his grave.
Now that you have posted a meaningful and touching story about your childhood and what the Cubs and Caray mean to you, I shall post a completely separate unrelated story to guide the attention of the thread back to myself, pushing your story into the past and ensure all eyes are on me.
 

E_D_Guapo

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Now that you have posted a meaningful and touching story about your childhood and what the Cubs and Caray mean to you, I shall post a completely separate unrelated story to guide the attention of the thread back to myself, pushing your story into the past and ensure all eyes are on me.
:lol
 

Kbrown

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Now that you have posted a meaningful and touching story about your childhood and what the Cubs and Caray mean to you, I shall post a completely separate unrelated story to guide the attention of the thread back to myself, pushing your story into the past and ensure all eyes are on me.
Sorry, that isn't what I was trying to do, and I didn't tell a story. I was trying to say that I thought it was neat that they ran that commercial for Cubs fans that are around what I presume is ED's (and my) age to enjoy, to the point that even a non-Cubs fan thought it was cool.

Not my intention to make it about me. I won't comment on the celebration any more.
 

Kbrown

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Lol, nevermind, get it now. I feel dumb.

Apology not deleted, for posterity and so you can laugh at me.
 
D

Deuce

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His signing was big. You absolutely need a gamer like him in October.
Hell yes he is. Any man who can stare down pitchers in a WS and deliver while having Contemporary Christian walk up music has brass ones.

And yes, I just reminded an atheist that a devout Christian gave him one of the greatest moments of his life.

[/derailthread]
 
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