Ever dreamed of throwing out the first pitch at a baseball game with tens of thousands of fans waiting for you to sail the ball perfectly over home plate?
Ten Northwestern students will compete for that chance tonight at First Pitch Bar Night. The contest at Prairie Moon, 1502 Sherman Ave., will determine who will throw out the first pitch during NU Day at Wrigley Field.
One contestant, McCormick senior Mike Kinsella, said throwing out the first pitch “would be a dream come true.”
“It would be the second most important Cubs experience of my life,” Kinsella said. “The first hasn’t happened yet, but it will be when the Cubs win the World Series.”
First Pitch Bar Night gained national recognition last year after it was ranked 31st in the Sports Illustrated article “The 100 Things You Gotta Do Before You Graduate.”
This year’s NU Day at Wrigley Field, organized by Northwestern Class Alliance, will be on May 16. The Cubs are playing the Washington Nationals in the Tuesday night match-up.
Bringing NU students to Wrigley Field is meant to “get Northwestern together and be a community-building type of thing,” said Communication sophomore Tara Corrigan, who is the NCA vice president of programming.
Tickets went on sale May 1, and 1,500 students will be able to attend the game, Corrigan said.
In an effort to increase the feeling of Northwestern unity, students who buy tickets for this year’s game will receive a purple T-shirt to wear to the game, Corrigan said. Tickets cost $15 and include the price of the T-shirt.
At NU Day, students “are kind of owning (Wrigley Field),” she said.
Twenty students applied for the opportunity to throw out the first pitch. Ten finalists were chosen to compete, two from each grade and two “wildcards,” Corrigan said. Participants were picked on the basis of their campus involvement, their passion about NU and their enthusiasm for the Chicago Cubs.
Finalists will be asked to perform a talent, which Corrigan said is “usually silly,” answer a question and participate in a Cubs-related activity. The first three rounds of the event will be judged on audience applause and the last round – a trivia game – on points.
“Besides my stunning good looks,” Kinsella said, expressing confidence about his chances, “I think my crowd support will be excellent, and my knowledge of Cubs and NU trivia will help me stand out.”
“Overall, I don’t think there is a bigger Cubs fan than myself,” he said.
Finalist Alex Wayne, a Communication freshman, was not chosen for his loyalty to the Cubs. A fervent Boston Red Sox fan, he said he hopes to make up in talent what he lacks in lifelong Cubs affiliation. Wayne said jokingly that he has “no performable talents” but said he is planning something that will be humorous instead.
If selected, Wayne said he would “take it really seriously.”
“Public humiliation is a big fear of mine,” he said.
But Wayne said he would be willing to face a little embarrassment if “it was on Sports Center’s Top 10.”
Reach Katie Ressmeyer at [email protected].
