Keeps Getting Worse
I wish I were just talking about the play of the Cubs on the field. As if that isn’t bad enough, the Ricketts are managing to dismantle the Wrigley experience faster than the Cubs can mount losses.
Their latest ‘improvement’ is to play recorded music instead of organ music when each Cubs player goes to bat. The result is an assault on the ears. Wrigley’s sound system isn’t clear enough to allow the fans to even make sense of the short burst of sound/noise, and the mostly heavy-metal choices just don’t match what used to be the easy-going, fun at the old ballpark atmosphere of Wrigley. I heard it for the first time at the Cubs/Sox series, which is when it was introduced. Maybe that’s why the Sox played so well; they felt like they were back at the Cell.
Supposedly, the marketing department is currently making the musical selections, but soon the players will get to pick their own intro songs. I vote for switching back to the organ, and letting the players pick their songs when the team gets back to .500. Maybe that will be the incentive they need to start playing like major leaguers. Certainly nothing else has helped so far.
The second new gift from the Ricketts is a giant noodle outside of the park, right next to the Ernie Banks statue. Ernie must be so honored. It’s a huge yellow noodle, a not-so-subtle advertisement for Kraft. Wally Hayward, Executive VP of Marketing for the Cubs, says it will be there for the rest of the season and he hopes it will become as iconic as the Bean at Millenium Park. I thought I missed McDonough before, but now I’m wondering if they kept anyone from his marketing staff. Did they allow McDonough to take all of his talent to the Blackhawks with him?
Katie Said,
June 21, 2010 @ 9:54 pm
Yes, the Toyota sign is quite the eyesore. As is, in my humble opinion, the Horseshoe Casino Rooftop. All gambling provides is hope to the hopeless. THen again, what a perfect target for their advertising campaign. WHo could be more hopeless than Cub fans? We are always searching for that shred of hope that THIS is the year. And the Cubs played worse than a little league team on Sat June 19. If the charm of Wrigley is lost, there will be no reason to attend the stadium as paying that kind of money to see men fail to hit a ball. Well, that is a crime in and of itself. But, like all good addicts, one cannot resist a fix every once in a while. I just so miss the leisurely days when we hung out at Wrigley since it was the cheapest way to entertain six kids. No, I can’t imagine a more expensive way of entertaining just one kid.