I went to last nights Cub / Cardinal Sunday Night Baseball game and had an absolute blast. To my amazement, it was one of the most pleasant games I’ve been to in a while. I was bringing my 8 year old son (diehard Cardinal fan) to the game. This was to be his first game at Wrigley Field. It was his birthday and what better to do than take in a Cardinals game with him and some of his buddies. I had prepared him all week long for “THE DUMP”. Told him he has to see Wrigley Field once in his life before they tear that crap down. Warned him about the horse trough urinals. Warned him about the poles. Warned him about the STUPID “Go Cubs Go” song. Warned him about the Cub fans who really don’t care about baseball. Warned him about the bumper to bumper traffic we’d likely experience. And so on……. He was definitely prepared for the worst. But to our surprise – we got very little negative out of this game.

He and his friends had a blast. At one point during the game I asked my son, so what do you think of Wrigley Field? He said, “I’m having a blast.” I immediately questioned him and said – well – is it better than Busch Stadium? He was quick to say, “well, ummm, I guess what I mean is this place is a dump – but i’m still having a lot of fun.” There we go. Now my 8 year old son has taken on the attitude you Cub fans have. Accept the fact that the place sucks just because it’s a fun atmosphere. Haha! Back to the story. The kids had a blast. I didn’t have any obnoxious fans in my ear. Our traffic out wasn’t bad. All in all, it was a great game and experience. Helped that the Cardinals put up some runs and tons of hits and got the win. The kids even got to head down to the Cardinals bullpen area before the game and snag some autographs. Corey Patters, Skip Schumaker, Octavio Dotel and Mitchell Boggs were the brave few to sign autographs. Classy!

Reasons Why This Cubs Game May Not Have Sucked?

Kids

When you have kids with you at a Cubs game – does it shelter you from the obnoxiousness? People half heartedly joked around with the 3 little 8 year old Cardinal fans in my group. But all in fun. Nothing obnoxious. I was pleasantly surprised with the lack of cursing and loud mouthing going on. I think having kids with me helped avoid those situations.

Sunday Night vs. Friday or Saturday Night

This played a big part as well. It was a Sunday Night Baseball game. People had to work in the morning. Maybe Cubs fans were smart enough not to get absolutely plastered at this game. Made for a much more “fan friendly” environment to say the least.

Cubs Fans are Just Simply – Done

Another big part of my pleasant Wrigley Field experience simply lies with the fact that Cubs fans are done. They have moved on. This team sucks and they know it. It is football season to 95% of them. To prove this, two guys walked up our section with Packers jerseys on. The whole section started booing them and chanting, “Lets go Bears, Lets go Bears.” They are done with the Cubs and ready for the Bears. Being done with the Cubs means I don’t have to hear all the “we are awesome – you suck” comments.  Point to take away is – Cubs Suck!

Now for the Sucky Dumpness

Just because I had a positive Wrigley Field experience didn’t mean some things didn’t suck. It is still a dump. Don’t get me wrong.

Travel Into the Game

Our travel into the game was horrendous. This is more due to the massiveness of Chicago and the fact that the Air and Water show was going on. But still – just getting in and out of Cubs games is NO FUN. Period.

Kid Friendly Pre-Game Environment

We made several comments before the game about the entertainment around the stadium. Wrigley Field has a lot. They had bands, beer tents, booths and more. All in all a great time – FOR ADULTS. They had very little kid entertainment. It’s more of an adult playground if you would. Our kids were bored out of their mind up until the game starts. That is one flaw of Wrigleyville in my opinion.

Still Got the Pole

Yep. Never seems to fail me. Every time I go to Wrigley I have the darn poles somewhere in between me and the field. Oh well. That’s Wrigley.

All in all this was probably the best experience I’ve ever had at Wrigley Field. Let’s hope it happens again in 2012.

Our Team

We played a great game.  Better than the first game which is encouraging.  The kids are really hitting the ball well.  Myself and the other 3 coaches really seem to focus on encouraging and helping the kids.  I really think encouragement is huge at this age.  They are 7-8 years old and just need to hear “good job” sometimes.  So we really focus on doing that.  I think we “won” the game 24-11 or something like that.

Drew’s Game

Drew did well.  He hit the ball each time but nothing really to the outfield.  He played a great 1B.  I was proud of him.  Scooped one out of the dirt and caught another one.  Overall a good game for the Drew-man!

Next Game

Friday, 7:00 PM CST – Against the Cubs

p.s. – Make sure you “like” the MYBA Facebook Page!

Let me say – they did GREAT.  These kids seemed like they have been playing coach pitch for years.  They knew when and where to run, they knew where to throw the ball, they were respectful and listened to our coaches.  All in all and great first game.  The games last 1:30 or 6 innings.  We played from 7:00 to 8:30 which is a long time for these kids.  We have 14 games throughout the summer.  This week we play M-W-F and next week we play Tu-Th-Sat… So you get the idea – it’s going to be a LONG SUMMER!

Drew did great.  I was proud of him.  He hit the ball well and played the field well.  I give him a hard time because he didn’t catch the liner back up the middle.  But I guess I really didn’t expect him to catch it (just hoped he did).  Most of all, Drew and all of the kids seemed to have a great time.  They enjoyed it and were smiles the whole night.  I truly can’t wait for our game on Wednesday.

If you are in Morton and want to watch some kids playing a game they love.  5:30 on field 3 on Wednesday!!! Dodgers vs. Reds  :)

p.s. – We aren’t supposed to keep “score” but you know me.  What’s a game without a score, right?  Haha.  So don’t tell the kids but we lost to the Yankees 29-21 in our opener.

MYBA Baseball

MYBA baseball has started up for Drew.  He played (and I coached) Tball last year and we are both very glad to be at the next level this year.  He will be playing coach pitch this year and once again – I’m coaching.  Heck, I some how got hustled (volunteered) to be the Maverick League directory this year so that is going to keep me busy as well.  But anyways, I’m coaching Drew in coach pitch.  We are the Dodgers this year and should have a lot of fun.  The kids seem to be great kids and I have plenty of awesome coaches helping me out.  Sure was nice breaking the gloves out and dusting off the bats.  Baseball is here!  For Drew’s schedule you can go here:  2011 Dodgers Maverick League Schedule

Cardinal Baseball

Probably even more exciting to me is that fact that Cardinals baseball is here.  I am spoiled.  I got to attend opening day this year.  Unfortunately, they lost.  But never the less – I was there.  Then I went back on Sunday for the Cardinal Blogger / Social Media day.  That was awesome.  We got to go into the Cardinal administrative offices and listen to the GM John Mozeliak speak.  After that they took us to an all-inclusive box and gave us free tickets, food, drink for the whole game.  Quite a fun experience.  Best of all – they are doing this again in May!!!  Pays to own CardinalsGM, AlbertPujolsClub and CubsSuckClub I guess!  haha.

But besides that – the Cardinals are going to struggle.  2-4 record to start.  The offense looks blah.  The pitching is ok.  Bullpen not so hot.  Check out our Cardinals blog for more of my thoughts on this years team.

Dairy Queen

The spring time comes and my kids are like auto programmed to start asking Sarah and I…

“Can we ride our bikes to Dairy Queen tonight to get ice cream.”

I swear I will hear that line 245 times this spring among my 3 kids.  But you know what – I love DQ – so I’ll probably say yes like 125 times.  HAHA.

Jumping on the Trampoline and Playing Outside

This is one of the biggest things for our family.  We just love to be outside.

• Jumping on the trampoline
• Playing backyard hoops
• Swings, slides, sand table…
• Going for walks and bike rides
• Sitting out front or on the patio with neighbors

We love everything about it.  It makes the kids tired and just makes everyone in a good mood overall.  Remind me again why we all live in central Illinois still?  I could handle spring weather for 365 days out of the year.

Backyard Basketball

It’s time to get backyard basketball with the neighbors started up once again.  2010 was the first year I did this.  Every Wednesday I had guys over to play some 3 on 3 action on the court.  It went over great.  We all got our competitive juices flowing (sometimes too much), got some exercise, and got to know our neighbors a bit more.  Now if we can find a way to coral the 30+ kids that end up in my backyard too!  good luck right?

I guess that’s about it.  I’m excited that spring is here.  I’ll continue to give updates as life goes on.  Be sure to follow me on Facebook or Twitter for more constant day to day updates.

Knuppel Christmas

One night it was Christmas eve and the Knuppel were going to bed. they were all in Drew’s room To read the animal book .when they were done, Bryce and mom went in his room to go to bed. Dad was putting Alyssa and Drew to bed when it was prayer time Dad just reemembered that we forgot to put the cookise out for santa. So they went downstairs Drew helped get the mug and the cookise Alyssa helped get the coco Dad got the plate then we put the cookise on the plate and Dad made the coco. then we went to bed. in the morning they saw presents under the tree Drew and Alyssa said ahhhhhh then they went over to the cookise and coco it was gon then they said Dad wakeup it’s Christmas Dad said ill be down in a minit when evreybudy was down we opin presents then Drew and Alyssa got a DSIXL’s for Christmas Bryce got alfy then we all pict up

THE END

By Drew Knuppel (7 Year Old)

Elmo Got a Game

One day Elmo and Ernie went to the game store. When they got there Elmo and Ernie found a really cool game named “Payday”. Elmo liked the game so much that he asked Ernie if he could buy the game with his own money. Then Ernie said yes. After Elmo checked out, Elmo and Ernie walked out of the game store. They saw Big monkey then they said hi Big monkey. They went back to their car and Elmo stepped on something. On the way back he stepped in something it was gum. Ernie said ahhhhh. Elmo did to. He stepped so hard that he pulled so hard that he flew in to the air. Big monkey tried to catch Elmo and he did. Ernie said hurrah!!!!! Big monkey took Elmo to Ernie then they went back to their homes happily ever after.

The End

By Drew Knuppel (7 years old)

A few minutes later we checked the back part of my basement (no carpet or anything finished). Just concrete floors basically. The back window well was 100% full of water. It seriously looked like a full aquarium. Needless to say water was leaking in. Wasn’t bad just some water coming in and I wasn’t sure how to get rid of it. The drain in the bottom of the window well was either covered, clogged or just backed up… ugh. So I started wet vaccuuming some of the water just to keep it controlled… not a biggie. But I still wanted to figure out why it wasn’t draining so I was running in and outside thinking about jumping in the well and trying to unclog the drain. But the window well was metal, with water, and terrible lightning outside. Probably not smart so i didn’t attempt it.

So then Sarah comes up from basement and shouts, “Where is the trampoline?” Sure enough, despite being staked down by 6 U-Stakes, the trampoline had been completed blown away by the strong winds. It apparantly went through our fence (busted 2 panels completely) and into our neighbors house. Luckily the house only had a dented gutter and a window screen hurt. That’s it! On the downside, the trampoline is 100% mangled and totalled… Our fence is hurtin. Wonderful! Just what I wanted to deal with.

Once the storm calmed down we were able to go outside and drag the trampoline back into our yard. Funny story, Bryce (our 2 year old) started crying saying, “oh no… no jump. jump broken…” That added a little humor to our sucky night at least. Called everything into insurance this morning and now waiting for the adjuster to come out and look at the damage and pictures. We are hoping they replace the trampoline but not sure if they will.

I’ve posted some of the pictures of what this wind did to the poor trampoline below.

Friday Tball EGroup

Friday night started off with a late night tball makeup game.  Yeah, we’ve had like 5-6 rainouts this year for Drew’s Thunder tball games (MYBA) but they make them all up.  Because Tuesday’s game was rained out they decided to schedule this game for 6:30 PM on Friday.  Not the most convenient but whatever.  So, we had that game and it was a beautiful night for tball.  Very few kids showed up so we ended up finishing the game in 40 minutes or so.  Bonus!

After Tball we had eGroup at the Norris’s house.  Fun times.  We just chatted and of course ate with our eGroup friends.  The kids watched a couple movies downstairs and Bryce annoyed mommy and daddy as always  He ended up being “extra cuddly” with Jamie so that gave us all a good laugh as well.

Saturday Tball and Winery

On Saturday morning we had another Thunder tball game.  It rained, I mean poured, all night so I thought there was no chance of a game.  But it happened.  We played the rival MuckDawgs that had the Stock boys, Broc and some other kids from Drew’s class.  The game went well but took a little longer.  Oh well.

Saturday night we hit up the Mackinaw Valley Winery for the first time of the 2010 summer.  We really enjoy this place.  The band “Loose Shoes” was playing and we went out there with some friends from Morton.  Good times as always and it was the most awesome weather for this event.  No wind. No heat. No rain.  We chatted, drank a little wine and ate some Butch’s Pizza (thanks Tim)!!!

Sunday Father’s Day

Father’s Day on Sunday was very very tiring but a good one.  Let’s recap this day.

• 8:30 AM – drove out to Manito to pick up the kiddos.  They spent the night at grandma and grandpa’s house but I wanted them to go to Church with us on Fathers day.
• 10:00 AM – Went to Elevate Church.  Funny story.  They played a game for fathers where they had 8 fathers on stage.  Of course, I was one that got picked.  Now, each person faced off heads up with another guy on some male trivia.  The first question was a hockey question that I struggled with, but won.  Now I’m in the final four.  The 2nd question was what is the most expensive car in the world.  They had 3 choices.  I chose A.  He chose C.  Of course, the answer was B.  So how do we break the tie.  Matthew Bennett was one of the guys asking questions and running it.  The Bennett’s know me very well and he decided to put me to the “test”.  He goes, “Who is the BEST team in Major League Baseball.”  Without hesitation I answered, “The St. Louis Cardinals“.  DUH.  EASY.  He quickly says, “NO, You lose.”  See, they are huge Cubs fans and he wanted to see how faithful to my Redbirds I was.  I past that test but lost the contest.  It was a HUGE blessing in disguise though.  The championship round the guys had to see who could chug a “Happy Shake” the fastest.  What’s a happy shake?  A Happy Shake is a full McDonalds Happy Meal blended up into a drink.  EWWWWW.  Thank goodness I didn’t even have to attempt that.  They also provided Red Bull and Texas Roadhouse bread as a snack during service.  Elevate Church in Morton ROCKS!
• 12:00 PM – Went to my brother, Rodney Knuppel, house in Pekin.  We had some KFC for lunch and just hung out.  The kids got tired very quickly so we went home for some rest.
• 2:00 PM – rest time!  Nap for the father!
• 4:00 PM – Headed out to Green Valley to Sarah’s parents house.  Fun grilling out night.  Had some steaks and great food.  The kids played in the kiddie pool and gave us all some entertainment.
• 9:00 PM – BED

So that is that.  The weekend was crazy busy but lots of fun.  The kids and Sarah treated me great on Fathers Day and made me realize why I love being a daddy sooooo much!