Chicago Cubs planning to use crowd noise during short season?

Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

On July 24, the Chicago Cubs will begin their shortened 2020 season by welcoming the Milwaukee Brewers without fans in attendance

Baseball season is nearly underway as the Chicago Cubs continue their summer workouts. Already, fans have looked over the upcoming schedule to see who stands in Chicago’s way of a division title.

Unfortunately, until further notice, Wrigley Field itself will not be packed by thousands of dedicated baseball lovers. This in itself has been very difficult for people to deal with — not just in Chicago but other baseball cities as well.

There’s nothing greater than making your way to your seats while players are warming up on the field. Listening to everything happening at once from fans chatting to baseballs hitting glove pockets to players taking batting practice.

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Meanwhile, during games, venders make their way through the crowd. Selling snacks and beverages while conversating with new and familiar faces as the game continues. Once it’s time for the stretch, everybody, friend or foe, comes together to sing ‘Take Me Out To The Ballgame’.

For as long as I can remember, Wrigley Field has sold out nearly every baseball game it has hosted. Last year, the Friendly Confines welcomed a combined 3,094,865 fans with an average of 38,208 per game.

That is an insane amount of people but expected for a historic landmark such as Wrigley. Not being able to interact with fans in person, let alone feed on the energy, will leave a considerable impact on the shortened season.

Of course, given it’s 2020, we have the technology to fill necessary gaps when needed. In this instance, the Cubs sound crew had a little fun with crowd noise on a Tuesday afternoon. Now, although it may not be the real thing, it isn’t all that bad.

Crowd noise has been used more times than you could imagine. Basically, to make things seem more interesting than they appear, but it still adds a little more excitement to whatever needs it.

On the field, Cubs skipper David Ross, being the fun guy he is, gave the ‘fake Wrigley crowd‘ a bit of a curtain call. In his final regular-season home game as an active player, Ross homered in front of thousands of Cubs and Cardinals fans.

Before Chicago’s 3-1 victory over the Cardinals, then manager Joe Maddon pulled Ross in the top of the seventh. The veteran catcher made his way to the Cubs dugout to a roaring ovation. He would later be carried off the field by teammates following a World Series Game 7 victory.

Surely, Wrigley Field won’t be the only professional sports stadium using crowd noise to make everything seem normal. Whether or not fans approve of this plan, baseball is back. If we’re unable to pack the stands of stadiums around the world, we’ll have to be even louder in 2021.

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