LONDON — Londoners Chelsea Monteiro and Alfie and Emily Mae Ferris had never even watched baseball on television when they got their first taste of it Sunday at London Stadium.
“First game, first everything — we’re obsessed,” said Monteiro, 23. “We love it.”
They got free tickets for their group through work and thought it could be fun. They Googled the rules. They chose the Cubs to root for because they’d heard of the Bulls and thought, “Close enough.” Monteiro and Alfie stuck Cubs-themed eye-black stickers on their faces to show their support.
“It’s the adrenaline,” said Alfie, also 23, who declared baseball his new second favorite sport — after soccer, of course. “When they hit the ball, it’s like, ‘Don’t catch it. Don’t catch it.’ The adrenaline rush you get is phenomenal.”
Not every member of the group the trio came with agreed. Some were bored with America’s favorite pastime. And, to be fair, Sunday’s game wasn’t an example of baseball’s best. The Cubs and Cardinals combined for four errors. As they battled the effects of a long flight and jet lag, the bouncy and unfamiliar turf appeared to affect play quality more than it had the day before.
The two-game series, which the teams split, had implications for the standings and the trade deadline. But there were loftier goals for the game itself as MLB tries to establish a foothold in the United Kingdom.
A combined 110,227 fans attended, according to official numbers — including a strong showing of Americans who made the trip. And expats had a taste of home to share with their British friends and family.
Edward Reney, 74, and Pete Smith, 71, had bonded over their love of baseball when they met over a decade ago. Reney was born in Massachusetts but moved to the U.K. in 1978, bringing his lifelong Red Sox fandom with him. Smith, a native Brit, fell in love with the Cubs while visiting his brother in Chicago in the 1980s.
“Ever since that day — that was back in ’85 — I was smitten,” he said. “I’m a Cubs fan through and through.”
When the Red Sox and Yankees crossed the pond for the inaugural London Series in 2019, Reney and Smith attended together. Smith said he became an honorary Red Sox fan for the series.
This past weekend, Reney returned the favor, donning a blue Cubs shirt to go with Smith’s pinstripe jersey. They plan to attend again next year, when the Mets and Phillies carry on the tradition (“We’ve just got to tell our wives about it,” Reney wisecracked). But there will be no honorary fandom for those games; they’ll rep their Cubs and Red Sox, respectively.
“We come for the ballgame, not a particular crowd,” Reney said. “The beer.”
Sunday’s game brought father-and-son Tigers fans Jason and Connor Blain to London Stadium. Jason, 51, grew up in London, Ontario, across the Canadian border from Michigan. He passed on his Tigers allegiance to his son, taking him to games when they visited. The family had moved to the U.K. when Connor, now 29, was 2.
“This is pretty amazing, to be honest,” Connor said. “I’m not going to lie — growing up in England, I haven’t got one friend who knows what baseball is.”
American football has established a following in the U.K., he explained, pointing to his Raiders hat. Father and son had been to NFL games at Wembley Stadium. But Jason was more impressed with MLB’s London Series.
“Incredible,” he said, wearing his classic Tigers home jersey. “We didn’t realize when we got on the [subway] how busy it was going to be.”
Monteiro and the Ferrises noticed that, too. Hearing American accents everywhere, they felt as though they were suddenly in a Hollywood movie.
“I’m invested now,” said Emily Mae, 16. “I don’t [usually] like sports. I’m a dancer — this isn’t for me. But I’m really invested in this.”
And the West Ham United soccer supporters had some advice.
“You need a proper chant,” Monteiro said. “I want them to hear it like 50 miles down the road.”
NOTE: MLB announced the All-Star Futures Game rosters Monday. Outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and infielder B.J. Murray were selected to represent the Cubs.
