Wrigley Field Message Wall Grows As End Of World Series Draws Near
CHICAGO (CBS) -- As the street sweepers make their way down Sheffield and the bright sunshine beams on Wrigley Field, the chalk messages on the old brick walls grow. What started as a simple message on the Sheffield wall now stretches a whole city block and around on the Waveland wall as the Cubs continue the World Series against the Indians.
"Let's write something for Grandma, what should we write?" said Jennifer Pappas, who's in town with her family from Minnesota.
"We wrote our names on Wrigley just to be part of history. We are so happy to see them win the pennant and we just want to see them finally win it all for my Grandma, especially. She's the biggest Cubs fan on the planet," said Tom Pappas.
The messages read "Do it for Grandma," "For Uncle Joe, Number One Fan" and "Fly The W for Grandpa Zak."
"Generations of people have been waiting for this, it's emotional, I got chills reading all the messages," said Ben Hancock, from Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Karen McGovern lost her brother Robert last week and wrote his name on the Waveland wall.
"He was 65, a huge Cubs fan and he died Friday. 'Did he get to see any of the games? Oh yeah, it's probably what killed him," she laughed."I know but...."
McGovern says being a Cubs fan requires a sense of humor, even in tragedy, something her brother would appreciate.
"We've been Cubs fans all our lives, like many and we've been waiting and waiting," she said.
She also wrote son's name in big letters next to her brother.
"His name is Nate, and he's away at college and it's killing him that he's not here for this," McGovern said. "I'm going to take a picture of this and send it to him and tell him he's a little piece of Wrigley's history now."
Soon, a group of preschoolers from nearby L & L Academy lined up along Waveland to write their own messages of gratitude and support.
"We're here to give the team good luck," teacher Vanessa Rivera said. "All the kids want to write their names and cheer on the Cubs."
Rick and Nancy Smathers just recently bought a second home a few blocks for Wrigley. They're from Atlanta and say they're moved by what's happening in their new neighborhood.
"These last couple of weeks have been unbelievable to me," Rick said. "We've seen a lot of grandma, grandpa, this is for mom on this wall. To me it's all positive, which is great."
"This reminds me of the bridge in Paris where you put your locks and your names on it and to me, that is reminiscent of that," Nancy said. "It's like you want to leave a little bit of your self here and just celebrate what it is, celebrate somebody or something, it's great."
Tuesday also was All Saints Day, when spirits come to visit. No doubt, they're reading the messages and will be sitting in the bleachers cheering on their beloved Cubs.
"This is about so much more than baseball."
