Author: Motoki Nagata

Program of Study: Master of Laws (LLM), Law School

Wrigley Field after the game (Photo taken by the author)

Wrigley Field after the game (Photo taken by the author)

Description: Have you ever seen the Chicago Cubs’ game at Wrigley Field? In this podcast, you will know why US people are so enthusiastic about baseball. After listening, you may feel like visiting a ballpark to experience magic of baseball!

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Transcript (provided by author):

Welcome to the ELI’s Finding Chicago Global Perspectives Podcast Series for AEPP 2025. I’m your host, Motoki Nagata, and I’m currently enrolled in the University of Chicago’s Law School. Today I want to share my wonderful baseball game experience at Wrigley Field.

On September 7, I went to Wrigley Field for Chicago Cubs vs. Washington Nationals, and this turned out to be an unforgettable memory for me.

To be honest, I am not a lifelong baseball fan. Although I grew up in Japan and knew the basics, I didn’t follow baseball news or stats. But when a friend in Chicago told me, “Why don’t we go to the Wrigley Field! It’s part of U.S. culture,” I was like “Challenge accepted!”

Actually, there was one more reason for my decision. Currently the Cubs has a few Japanese players, and the Cubs is becoming a household name in Japan as well as in the US. In fact, before I came to Chicago, friends back home would tell me things like, “You have to watch the Cubs’ game” So, I was feeling that it was kind of my duty as a Japanese student at UChicago to visit Wrigley Field and see the Cubs’ game with my own eyes.

Turns out, that decision is one of the greatest choices I have ever made in Chicago.

On that day, we got off the train more than an hour before first pitch and the streets were already buzzing. Caps, jerseys, T-shirts and face paint! It felt like a festival, not just a game.

After enjoying the atmosphere outside, we finally got inside the stadium. I grabbed a hamburger and fried potatoes, found my third-base-line seat, and watched the place fill up as “play ball” getting closer. After a while, the video board introduced the lineup. The noise climbed, and the stadium erupted with cheers. Obviously, everyone was itching for the first pitch!

Finally, the game started. At first, I was sitting politely. Then the crowd started chanting players’ names. High-fives, groans, instant debates with total strangers. I found myself getting more and more excited. The energy is contagious.

The turning point came in the 2rd inning, when one of Cubs main batters hit a homerun. All Cubs fans jumped up and screamed for joy instantly. Stadium was full of cheerful vibes. From the 3rd inning on, the Cubs looked dominant, creating scoring chances constantly, but in the last inning, the Cubs conceded a come-from-behind homerun, and ended up losing 3 to 6. The mood flipped fast. Cheers to boos!

Before visiting Wrigley Field, I had a question in my mind: “Why baseball is so popular in the US?” But that day, that moment, I felt I was reaching an answer. Baseball unites people.

In retrospect, Cubs fans around me were so enthusiastic about baseball. During the game, they were expressing their emotion so openly: by shouting, jumping, crying and even booing. In contrast, in Japan, it seems this is not always the case. Of course, there are a lot of baseball fans in Japan, and they are excited when watching a baseball game. But, from my experience, they don’t show their emotions as directly as Cubs fans I saw that day.

Throughout the game, I realized I was sharing the same emotion with Cubs fans around me－people from all kinds of different backgrounds. I didn’t even know their name. But I was feeling a kind of sense of community. That fact made me reflect on the meaning and value of baseball.

So, why baseball unites people?

First, time. Length of a game. A baseball game usually lasts a few hours. That gives strangers enough time to sync up. Thinking back to my experience on that day, I was shy and quiet at first, just politely sitting in my seat. By the middle innings I found myself cheering like everyone else.

Second, talk. Baseball is easy to discuss. Baseball is a neutral topic, not sensitive like politics or religion. Just “Did you see that catch?” “Should they steal here?” After the game I heard groups from different backgrounds having the same conversation about the same plays.

Needless to say, the US is one of the most diverse countries in the world. In this country, people from completely different racial, social and cultural backgrounds are living together. This is not always the case with relatively homogeneous countries like Japan. In such situation, you need a topic everyone can share equally, and I think baseball is playing that role.

In short, baseball allows diverse US fans to share same emotions such as hope, joy, and even anger! By cheering and talking about their favorite team, they can feel united despite racial, political, and cultural differences. That’s, I believe, how baseball has been playing such an important role in connecting US people, and that’s why this sport is loved so deeply in the US. So yes, Cubs lost that day. But I left with something bigger: a sense of community. Hope, joy, frustration—shared with thousands. Names unknown. Emotions aligned.

If you’re new to Chicago, go to Wrigley Field once. It’s just about 30 minutes by train from the Downtown. Cheer the Cubs just as everyone else does. You’ll get it.

Thank you for listening to my podcast, and I hope you feel like visiting a baseball stadium. By cheering your favorite team together with thousands of baseball fans around you, you can feel the inclusive atmosphere in the US. Anyone is welcome!