Joel and Stephanie Jerabek have been Cubs fans since elementary school.
Growing up in Yorkville, Stephanie Jerabek, 68, recalls watching Cubs legends like Ron Santo and Glenn Beckert, hearing Jack Brickhouse’s play-by-play coverage and meeting Ernie Banks in person.
The Jerabeks were among the tens of thousands of Cubs fans who descended upon the Friendly Confines on Tuesday for the team’s wild-card series opener against the Padres.
This is the first time the Cubs have clinched a playoff spot in front of fans since 2018, and that fact wasn’t lost on the Jerabeks.
“We want them to win the World Series, obviously, but they gotta win this wild-card series first,” said Joel, 67.
“That’s how we do it as Cubs fans,” Stephanie said. “One game at a time.”
On an unseasonably warm morning, hours before first pitch, the sidewalks outside Wrigley Field were already buzzing, with fans wearing blue, red and white filling the bars and street corners. Vendors shouted over the crowd as they hawked peanuts, hot dogs and T-shirts, while kids craned their necks to spot the ballpark’s iconic red marquee.
For 2-year-old Ria, game day was also a birthday celebration, said her parents, Omar Navarro and Kristine Rodriguez. The family from Portage Park brought a homemade sign that read, “Holy cow I’m 2 today,” with the letter C in red and W in blue.
Rodriguez, 35, said she has been a Cubs fan “since I was a baby,” and a favorite memory was meeting members of the 2003 team with her dad at a game at Wrigley.
Now, the parents are doing the same for Ria. “She’s going to grow up to be a Cubs fan,” Navarro said.
Ria was far from the only lifelong Cubs fan in training at Tuesday’s game.
It was already the 2-year-old Penelope Padilla’s second of the year, said her mom, Kelsey Dos Santos, 35, of Addison. Donning a Cubs hat and jersey, the young fan let out an enthusiastic “Go, Cubs” at Dos Santos’ side.
“We’re excited — any chance to be here,” Dos Santos said with a chuckle. “She loves to play in Gallagher Way and mom likes to drink beer.”
For Bailey Zyer, 29, Tuesday’s game was her 31st — and her first-ever playoff game. She hoped the game would match the Cubs-Diamondbacks thriller in April, when the Cubs gave up 10 runs in the eighth inning, then came back to win.
“Same energy, but dial it up 10 notches,” said Zyer when asked about her expectation for Tuesday’s experience.
Zyer moved to Wrigleyville with her boyfriend to be able to attend as many Cubs games as possible. She said her game day ritual is walking her dog around the ballpark in the morning when players arrive so they can watch and sometimes get autographs.
Friends Marcia Lane-McGee, 45, of the South Side, and Audrey Krueger, 40, of Bartlett, said they had been anticipating Tuesday’s game for the whole season. Both said they were raised in households of Cubs fans.
Lane-McGee came decked out in Cubs gear, including a 2016 World Series champions T-shirt, metallic Cubs earrings with red, blue and white beads, and red lipstick. “When I found it, I was like, that’s Cubby red, and I wear this lipstick to every game,” she said. Lane-McGee said she went to her first game at 12 and has been going ever since.
“I just thought this whole season was magical, so I’m just gonna say ‘magical,’” said Lane-McGee when asked about her hopes for the Cubs’ playoff run. “I’m just prepared for some more magic.”
“Victory,” Krueger added. “I want to see us come out on top.”