Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times
For the first time in nearly two years, thousands of Cubs fans returned to the friendly confines to take in the unbeatable sights and sounds of a sunny day at Wrigley Field. Don’t let the mid-30s temperatures distract you: It’s Opening Day in Chicago, and it is indeed glorious.
Fans bundled in jackets with faces covered by masks took to the Wrigleyville streets Thursday to celebrate the first major sporting event to allow fans in the stands since the start of the pandemic last year.
One fan had a sign cheering the fact that he’s attending his first game with a mask on. Another sign said what fans around the country are thinking as the season starts: “Thank God baseball is back.”
Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times
Thousands of overjoyed Cubs fans returned to Wrigley Field for the first time in over a year Thursday for an unprecedented Opening Day matchup with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Prior to the first pitch, throngs of fans chanted, cheered and posed for photographs under Wrigley’s iconic marquee at the intersection of Clark and Addison streets. Tim Gerster, of Portage Park, said the city’s move to allow a limited number of fans back to ballparks marks a shift “back to normalcy.”
“A year’s too long to be away from the Cubs,” said Gerster, who has for a decade brought his teenage son to every home opener.