It wasn’t optimal. Nor was it particularly endearing. It was however, the only place Dodger fans imprisoned by circumstance, could collectively gather to watch the first game of the playoffs in-between classes and for this reason, we made do.
Covertly slipping out of class prior to its end, I began following the trickle of blue and white clad students converging on to The Pub. The goal: watching the Dodgers claim a game 1 victory. The reality: The Pub doesn’t get TBS.
A long stare at the bartender revealed the gravity of my situation. He wasn’t kidding.
I won’t spend much time lamenting the inculpable establishment, but not having TBS at the sports bar on campus is incomprehensible. I can understand not having Sunday NFL Ticket, which costs around $200 a season, but TBS? It doesn’t get more basic than TBS, but so be it. The Pub is officially not the place to go if seeing a Dodger playoff game is on the agenda.
Maybe if the student senate wasn’t spending $40,000 on a matador statue they could afford to send The Pub a few dollars for cable television, but that’s for another day.
There I stood debating whether or not to return to class, when I overheard an equally disheartened fan mention that the game was on in the Game Room. Maybe drinking a beer was no longer on the menu, but at least this didn’t have to be a total loss. I just wanted to watch the game.
Sure enough, huddled in the far back corner of the Game Room, a small pocket of Dodger fans watched a television so fuzzy that you’d have thought it was snowing in the Windy City, and for all we know it was. It’s unclear how the Game Room has TBS and The Pub does not, but that’s the reality.
Almost as soon as I took my seat, Dodger pitcher Derek Lowe served up a two-run homerun to Mark DeRosa and the Dodgers were in an early 2-0 hole. Someone seated behind me yelled, ‘Well I guess it’s the Cubs year. The Dodgers aren’t going to get it done.’
The fair-weather fan received some unsavory looks from the group as he headed towards the door, but mostly we were just glad he was leaving.
For the next hour and change, we sat staring at the television as Dodger after Dodger went down swinging. You could feel the uneasiness in the room, and the flicker of hope beginning to wane within each of us.
And then the improbable happened.
With the bases loaded and 2 outs, James Loney came up to the plate and immediately fell 0-2 in the count. The next pitch came and all of us thought it was over. He whiffed, or so we thought. Apparently he foul tipped it, but the fuzziness from the TV made it hard to interpret. As he relaxed back into his stance Ryan Dempster through a pitch right over the plate and Loney drove it right out of the park for a grand slam and a 4-2 lead.
With the flick of his wrist, Loney had provided everything Dodger nation needed to breathe easier, and the Game Room crowd was re-energized. High-fives were exchanged and shouts of excitement rang out.
Manny Ramirez added to the lead in the 7th with a solo shot, Blake Dewitt scored in the 8th, and the Dodger bullpen was able to stymie the Cubs potent offense the rest of the way.
The underdog Dodgers had somehow gone into the Windy City and wrestled away a win on the Cubbies home field.
We weren’t able to feel the wind blowing off Lake Michigan into Wrigley field, but seated in the shabby corner of the Game Room watching a snowy television set we found little to complain about.
