It was time for the early arriving Cubs fans to settle in and get used to the 20-degree wind chill temperatures at Wrigley Field. It was April Fool’s Day, my group’s first 2026 game, but there wasn’t anything funny about the howling wind right off Lake Michigan.
A family of five walked up the concourse, wearing New York Yankees gear. They soon had their “First game at Wrigley Field” cards.
Maybe trying to get my mind off the cold, I started a conversation with mom Lunden Scheller, and her family, Michael Sr., Michael Jr., and daughter Madeline, of Chester, New Jersey.
The Yankees faithful were in the middle of an early-season family MLB tour. They saw seven games and all seven home teams won – including the Cubs in a 6-2 victory over the Angels. They joined in the Cubs long-time “Go Cubs Go” celebration song. After a rainout, there were fireworks at Rate Field for a White Sox walk-off winner, a 5-4 victory over defending American League champion Toronto.
“The White Sox game was perhaps our favorite,” Lunden Scheller said once back home. “The crowd showed up with so much love and spirit for the team. Not only did they win in extra innings, but it was the best attended game we saw. Not only were the seats packed, but everyone stayed. We are used to seeing a lot of people exit around the seventh inning but the Sox (fans) stayed and battled it out with their team for an epic win! They fought in that game like it was a playoff, so exciting to watch.”
Wrigley Field will have a special memory, though, for the family.
“Although it was brutally cold, it was a wonderful welcome to a beautiful field and team culture,” Lunden commented. “We absolutely loved the history of Wrigley Field and the effort the staff put into keeping the historic field alive. We couldn’t have had a better end to the day than singing the “Go Cubs Go” song with happy fans.”
Early season wins in MLB’s first week were also from: Cincinnati over Pittsburgh, 2-0; Milwaukee over Tampa Bay, 6-2; Detroit over St. Louis, 11-6 and Pittsburgh over Baltimore, 8-2. Matthew caught a foul ball from the Orioles’ Pete Alonso at the Pirates game and also a t-shirt. The kids enjoyed running the bases after the game at Pittsburgh.
The family loves the Yankees, as they go to a Yanks minor league affiliate’s game often, too, with one legend in mind in particular.
“I always loved Derek Jeter,” Michael Sr. said.
Things were looking bleak just a couple of days before, but thanks to 10-4 and 11-1 wins over the Phillies, things are looking up, at 9-9, with 144 games left.
The young family from New Jersey’s experience reminded me of my initial Cubs game. My grandfather and father took me to a 1963ish Cubs-Reds doubleheader. Believe I dosed through it, so it doesn’t count for the record. So when I was fortunate to attend the World Series Game 4, against Cleveland in 2016, it was indeed in their memory, too.
One of my heroes, the late Ron Santo, was barely past his call-up year of 1960. Of course I signed up for the Hall of Famer’s bobblehead, given away last Saturday.
