In the sea of red and blue, purple shone brightly as Northwestern students came out for NU Day at Wrigley Field to watch the Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 6-2 .
About 1,500 NU students dressed in NU Day T-shirts and Cubs jerseys headed into the stadium Tuesday night for the annual event.
NU Day at Wrigley was Austin Young’s first Cubs game, the Weinberg freshman said.
“It is exciting to have a genuine baseball experience at such a historic ballpark,” he said. “One of the perks of being so close to Chicago is for Northwestern to be able to have communal events like this. What an exciting way to create that sense of community by cheering on the Cubs.”
The event was co-sponsored by the Northwestern Class Alliance, the Northwestern Alumni Association and the Center for Student Involvement. Tickets sold out a few hours after going on sale April 27.
The NU T-shirts, a student-thrown first pitch and a student-performed national anthem were three traditions continued this year at the event, said Andrea Rosenkranz, president of the Northwestern Class Alliance.
NU Coach Pat Fitzgerald threw the ceremonial first pitch and Weinberg senior Christine DiPompeo, who won the beauty pageant-type contest at a “First Pitch Bar Night,” threw a pitch after Fitzgerald.
“I’ve always been a Cubs fan,” she said. “It’s hard to put (the feeling) into words because I never thought I’d get the chance to throw the first pitch.”
Dane Thomas, a Music graduate student, sang the national anthem, and Fitzgerald led the seventh inning stretch singing of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”
The event promotes school unity, Rosenkranz said.
“There is a lot of segregation on campus – Greek, Medill, theater,” the Weinberg sophomore said. “The great American pastime can really bring people from all walks of life together.”
Weinberg sophomore Kiran Pookote said he enjoyed going to the game with a group of his friends.
“It is a good way to have fun and relax,” he said. “The atmosphere is great when there are a bunch of NU kids here.”
