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They Deserve the Curse

April 1, 2008 10:45 PM

don't really like baseball. In fact, I actively dislike it. I think it's a boring, tedious sport, and I think that far too many of the people involved with it are unscrupulous pseudo-athletes, not to mention generally bad people.

Still, one of my favorite memories from a few summers ago was watching the Cubs play at Wrigley Field with Mr. Vice, pH, and Emily-in-Chief. That was a just a good time at the ballpark, even though I hardly remember the game.

One thing I do remember, though, was thinking how cool it was that there were all these bars right across the street from Wrigley that, thanks to the ballpark's design, were able to provide their customers with a view of the game from their rooftops. At the time, I didn't even think about what a huge money-making thing that would be--it just seemed like another thing that made Wrigley, already one of the coolest ballparks in the country, even cooler. So I was pissed when I read this article.

From what I understand, the Cubs management decided that they wanted a slice of the bar owners' profits because those bar owners were making money off of giving their customers a view of the game from their rooftops. And when, I take it, the bar owners told the Cubs to fuck off, the Cubs obstructed the bar owners' view. And now one of those bar owners is calling shenanigans on the whole thing and refusing to pay the Cubs the 17 percent of his profits that the other bar owners are paying.

I say give that guy a medal. It's a huge fucking dick move for the Cubs to decide that they're going to block the view from those rooftops. I mean, they own an open-air stadium, that's the price they pay: people who didn't pay admission might be able to see the fucking game without paying you.

Yeah, baseball's a business, but how much can the thousand or so people that fit on those rooftops possibly hurt the Cubs? From what I've heard, it's pretty difficult to get Cubs tickets, although we were able to get them pretty easily the day we went. Still, even when we were there, the stands were pretty close to full. So, at most, the Cubs are losing out on selling a few seats. As far as I'm concerned, for the Cubs to decide that those few dollars are worth pissing off local business owners and, you know, fans of the team is unconscionable.



2 Comments


JLee said:

That is ridiculous!! As if they don't make enough money...

We have some big controversies here with the new Cowboys stadium and the horrific prices they're going to charge people. Boycot I say!!

April 2, 2008 10:16 AM



skuter said:

The rooftops used to be free--now the owners have turned them into skyboxes, charging at least $100.00 per ticket. I think this is why the Cubs started charging the owners. If the owners had never turned the 'tops into a business, the Cubs would have left them alone.

May 17, 2008 6:49 PM



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