It was playoff time all over again at Wrigley Field – as soon as tonight’s the baseball game was done, with fans taking over the concourses to stay and watch the end of the Bulls’ overtime loss on ballpark TVs.
Even Cubs manager Mike Quade seemed relieved as he rushed into the postgame interview room and saw media watching the final minutes of regulation.
“You stay right there,” Quade said to a reporter sitting in his chair at the podium. “I was hoping you guys had the game on.”
And then he stood watching with media members until the game headed to overtime – chants of “MVP! MVP! MVP!” audible from the concourse.
That was until Derrick Rose missed the would-be winner as time expired – at which point, Quade finally sat down, smiling, and said, “OK, you guys got three minutes.”
First question: “What’d you think of Derrick’s play tonight?”
Response: “It’s not over yet.”
The gravity and thrill of the Bulls game naturally trumped the Cubs’ 11-1 win over the New York Mets even for fans who paid hundreds of dollars brave the cold of the ballpark – as they clustered by the dozens at each concourse monitor cheering and moaning at every play long after the baseball game.
“I don’t think there’s a sports fan in Chicago who cares what I have to say right now,” winning pitcher Ryan Dempster said as he entered interview room.
“I’ll keep this quick and painless,” he said. And then he did, before darting back to teammates watching in the clubhouse, adding, “Go Bulls,” as he headed out the door.
Minutes later, in the clubhouse, the mood shifted downward as Miami took control of the game.
“Why? Why?” Carlos Zambrano said to the TV near is locker stall as he watched Carlos Boozer miss a shot – Big Z then throwing down the shirt he was holding.
In case anybody noticed, the Cubs played errorless baseball, banged out 13 hits and got seven quality innings out of Dempster.
Uh, never mind.
