Chicago Cubs World Series win is at least on par with getting to see Steve Winwood live
By Keith Muldoon, Special Correspondent to Livejournal
Upon taking in most of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, and seeing a team he had cheered for his entire life all the way to the threshold of making history, Lewistown high school spanish teacher Gregory O'Neill has determined that it is in fact the most exciting event for Chicago since Steve Winwood performed at the Chicago Theatre.
"It would be hard for any event to quite match the level of energy, the electricity in the air, or the sense of shared community as the Steve Winwood concert I traveled to Chicago to see on April 18th, 2015," reflects Mr. O'Neill, 34. "But after reading about the Cubs winning it in thrilling fashion in Game 7, in which Ben Zobrist pulled off an exciting 1-run double in the top of the 10th to take the lead back, I think this is just about as thrilling," Mr. O'Neill says. "The picture of fans gathered at Murphy's Bleachers bleating out in joy as they see the big plays on the TV monitors, I was reminded of the hope, thrill, and joy i felt seeing Steve Winwood taking the stage and playing "Pearly Queen," "Fly," "At Times We Do Forget," "Glad," and "Can't Find My Way Home."
"Getting to watch the game with a group of parishoners from the Church of the Nazarene in Lewistown, all of them Cubs fans like me, did to some degree recapture the inimitable excitement of driving up to Chicago and sitting with sextigenarian Steve Winwood fans, and cheering when he played a song that we recognized, like "Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys," "Light Up or Leave Me Alone," or "Dear Mr. Fantasy," to the waves of applause from the people who remember hearing these song in the late 1960's, early 1970's, and me after buying the albums at Border's and Barnes and Noble in the past few years," Mr. O'Neill said.
Mr. O'Neill imagines that the moment the fans watched Bryant throw to Rizzo to get the last out of the World Series, and erupted in applause, must have been how he felt when Steve Winwood launched into "Higher Love," and followed it up with "Gimme Some Lovin'" as an encore at the storied theatre on State Street. "I am familiar with the joy that they must have felt," says O'Neill, who did not catch the tenth inning of the game, as he decided to go home during the first rain delay and turn in early since he had class in the morning.
"I thought that the big storm system shown on the Doppler Radar map had moved into Chicago. So I believed that it was going to be an hour or more of a rain delay before the game began again," Mr. O'Neill explained.
When asked if he has any curiosity to see the 10th inning of the game, or the first three innings, which he missed due to being at a Prairie Land Conference winder scheduling meeitng, he responded, "yes! sure! I can alsways catch the rest of it by going to the Fox website, or YouTube, or MLB.com or something, I guess, can't I?" Mr. O'Neill reflected. "I mean, this isn't like a Steve Winwood concert, where I actually have to drop everything and be there, since it won't be televised, and it wouldn't get a review in the Chicago Tribune the next day. I had to move my schedule around to be at that early, and be there for every second of it," he explains. "I had gone to Ticketmaster and spent forty-four dollars on a ticket! And it sold out! I was fortunate to get to see that live!" Mr. O'Neill draws a breath. "But yeah, the World Series is still important, I'm not saying it isn't. But I can kind of find out what I missed down the line," the life-long Cub fan and 10 year Steve Winwood fan reflected. "It just wasn't as important that, you know, I be at that in person, since it wasn't even in Chicago, really, it was at Progressive Field in Cleveland, after all." Mr. O'Neill, however, did not make any effort to find one of the three bars in the area to watch the 10th inning, or even go out ot his car to listen to the inning on 670 AM on his car radio.
"I was happy enough finding out about it when my dad called me at 11:49 pm while I was taking off my shoes and getting ready to climb into bed," Mr. O'Neill explained. "And hey, I was able to download the next day's Chicago Tribune onto my Kindle Fire. I bought a paper copy of the Galesburg Register Mail on my way home from Lewistown to Rock Island, so I have a print paper to read about everything from tehe 10th inning just the day after," he explained. Mr. O'Neill, who did not get to witness the Cubs storming the mound and pouring the champagne after a tenous seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth inning in the moment that it was happening, and will know ultimately how it all turns out when he finally does get to see it on camera.
"I know it may make me look ambivalent about the Cubs that I stopped watching when they were tied 6-6 in the bottom of the 9th," Mr. O'Neill said. "But I actually was sitting in my room on pins and needles about the Cubs. I was in suspense, hoping that an update would come up on social media to confirm that the Cubs had won, or lost," he added. "It wasn't an outcome I had any real control over, I was ready for whatever the final score was," he concluded about the team that had been four outs away from a World Series championship in the bottom of the 8th when two Cleveland Indians batters tied up the game, leaving the Cubs' ability to win their first championship in 108 years in the balance.
"But it's still special, whether I was the last Cub fan on the planet to find out they were world champions or the first," he explained. "It was a big thrill. Even though I've been to Wrigley Field seventeen times and I've been to only two Steve Winwood concerts in person, the Cubs, the World Series, and Wrigley Field still, ultimately, measures up as at least as exciting to me as seeing the man who gave us "Higher Love," "Valerie," and "While You See a Chance" live onstage.
Mr. O'Neill pauses to reflect. "After all, it is the Cubs games who gained their high esteem in my mind in their use of "Valerie" as a frequent song to play into commercials when listening to the games on WGN AM 720. That's what boosted it in my estimation to the quintessence of the Aerican Pastime."
Congratulations to the Chicago Cubs on their 8-7 win over the Cleveland Indians for their first World Series championship in 108 years!
Upon taking in most of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, and seeing a team he had cheered for his entire life all the way to the threshold of making history, Lewistown high school spanish teacher Gregory O'Neill has determined that it is in fact the most exciting event for Chicago since Steve Winwood performed at the Chicago Theatre.
"It would be hard for any event to quite match the level of energy, the electricity in the air, or the sense of shared community as the Steve Winwood concert I traveled to Chicago to see on April 18th, 2015," reflects Mr. O'Neill, 34. "But after reading about the Cubs winning it in thrilling fashion in Game 7, in which Ben Zobrist pulled off an exciting 1-run double in the top of the 10th to take the lead back, I think this is just about as thrilling," Mr. O'Neill says. "The picture of fans gathered at Murphy's Bleachers bleating out in joy as they see the big plays on the TV monitors, I was reminded of the hope, thrill, and joy i felt seeing Steve Winwood taking the stage and playing "Pearly Queen," "Fly," "At Times We Do Forget," "Glad," and "Can't Find My Way Home."
"Getting to watch the game with a group of parishoners from the Church of the Nazarene in Lewistown, all of them Cubs fans like me, did to some degree recapture the inimitable excitement of driving up to Chicago and sitting with sextigenarian Steve Winwood fans, and cheering when he played a song that we recognized, like "Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys," "Light Up or Leave Me Alone," or "Dear Mr. Fantasy," to the waves of applause from the people who remember hearing these song in the late 1960's, early 1970's, and me after buying the albums at Border's and Barnes and Noble in the past few years," Mr. O'Neill said.
Mr. O'Neill imagines that the moment the fans watched Bryant throw to Rizzo to get the last out of the World Series, and erupted in applause, must have been how he felt when Steve Winwood launched into "Higher Love," and followed it up with "Gimme Some Lovin'" as an encore at the storied theatre on State Street. "I am familiar with the joy that they must have felt," says O'Neill, who did not catch the tenth inning of the game, as he decided to go home during the first rain delay and turn in early since he had class in the morning.
"I thought that the big storm system shown on the Doppler Radar map had moved into Chicago. So I believed that it was going to be an hour or more of a rain delay before the game began again," Mr. O'Neill explained.
When asked if he has any curiosity to see the 10th inning of the game, or the first three innings, which he missed due to being at a Prairie Land Conference winder scheduling meeitng, he responded, "yes! sure! I can alsways catch the rest of it by going to the Fox website, or YouTube, or MLB.com or something, I guess, can't I?" Mr. O'Neill reflected. "I mean, this isn't like a Steve Winwood concert, where I actually have to drop everything and be there, since it won't be televised, and it wouldn't get a review in the Chicago Tribune the next day. I had to move my schedule around to be at that early, and be there for every second of it," he explains. "I had gone to Ticketmaster and spent forty-four dollars on a ticket! And it sold out! I was fortunate to get to see that live!" Mr. O'Neill draws a breath. "But yeah, the World Series is still important, I'm not saying it isn't. But I can kind of find out what I missed down the line," the life-long Cub fan and 10 year Steve Winwood fan reflected. "It just wasn't as important that, you know, I be at that in person, since it wasn't even in Chicago, really, it was at Progressive Field in Cleveland, after all." Mr. O'Neill, however, did not make any effort to find one of the three bars in the area to watch the 10th inning, or even go out ot his car to listen to the inning on 670 AM on his car radio.
"I was happy enough finding out about it when my dad called me at 11:49 pm while I was taking off my shoes and getting ready to climb into bed," Mr. O'Neill explained. "And hey, I was able to download the next day's Chicago Tribune onto my Kindle Fire. I bought a paper copy of the Galesburg Register Mail on my way home from Lewistown to Rock Island, so I have a print paper to read about everything from tehe 10th inning just the day after," he explained. Mr. O'Neill, who did not get to witness the Cubs storming the mound and pouring the champagne after a tenous seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth inning in the moment that it was happening, and will know ultimately how it all turns out when he finally does get to see it on camera.
"I know it may make me look ambivalent about the Cubs that I stopped watching when they were tied 6-6 in the bottom of the 9th," Mr. O'Neill said. "But I actually was sitting in my room on pins and needles about the Cubs. I was in suspense, hoping that an update would come up on social media to confirm that the Cubs had won, or lost," he added. "It wasn't an outcome I had any real control over, I was ready for whatever the final score was," he concluded about the team that had been four outs away from a World Series championship in the bottom of the 8th when two Cleveland Indians batters tied up the game, leaving the Cubs' ability to win their first championship in 108 years in the balance.
"But it's still special, whether I was the last Cub fan on the planet to find out they were world champions or the first," he explained. "It was a big thrill. Even though I've been to Wrigley Field seventeen times and I've been to only two Steve Winwood concerts in person, the Cubs, the World Series, and Wrigley Field still, ultimately, measures up as at least as exciting to me as seeing the man who gave us "Higher Love," "Valerie," and "While You See a Chance" live onstage.
Mr. O'Neill pauses to reflect. "After all, it is the Cubs games who gained their high esteem in my mind in their use of "Valerie" as a frequent song to play into commercials when listening to the games on WGN AM 720. That's what boosted it in my estimation to the quintessence of the Aerican Pastime."
Congratulations to the Chicago Cubs on their 8-7 win over the Cleveland Indians for their first World Series championship in 108 years!