At the end of the year, people like to recount the things that brought them joy over the past 12 months (or pain, in the current era anyway). I could go into several, but one was sparked for me today thanks to the Tribune’s cover.
As Ben Finfer noted:
Which Tribune curmudgeon wrote this? pic.twitter.com/dQjbljoxvU
— Ben Finfer (@BenFinfer) December 26, 2017
There’s certainly some tongue-in-cheek-ness to that line – whoever wrote it! – and it’s true that a couple rain delays featured dance-offs that the Cubs may not have won (especially those Diamondbacks – though it wasn’t really *dancing*):
Making the most of some extra free time. #CubsWeather pic.twitter.com/rn74m7xic7
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 20, 2017
@Cubs and @Dbacks got into a bullpen dance off during a rain delay Who won? pic.twitter.com/rAbhV6eCaH
— Hot Hand Sports (@hothandsports1) August 4, 2017
Here’s the thing about the bullpen dancing: it happened organically as the team adjusted to a dramatically different setup at Wrigley Field, and the pitchers naturally found ways to stay engaged in a game that was now on the other side of a wall from them. Hating on that is utter nonsense.
And that’s setting aside the fact that the bullpen dancing on camera when the Cubs hit a home run is fun as heck. Who’s doing what? What’s the new guy doing? Who is surprisingly getting into it?
It was an awesome addition to the game at Wrigley Field, in my opinion, and took out a lot of the sting of no longer seeing the bullpens on the field.