Dear Cubs, I Don’t Want Your Season Tickets

One of my life bucket list items is to own Chicago Cubs season tickets. In case you were not aware I am a pretty big Cubs fan. Owning season tickets never made sense because I lived in rural western Illinois about four hours from Wrigley Field. In 2014, I moved much closer to the “Friendly Confines,” only about a two-hour commute from Madison, Wisconsin.

That is really when my desire to own season tickets came to the forefront. The Cubs season ticket waiting list was long even during the rebuild years of 2013 and 2014. I signed up in 2015, and found myself about 60,000th in line.

The Cubs made a run to the NLCS in 2015 and top prospects like Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, and Jorge Soler had arrrived to Chicago. And then 2016 happened. A Chicago Cubs World Series win. Needless to say that Cubs season ticket waiting list didn’t budge an inch. Out of 60,000 fans on the waiting list, I probably only moved a couple hundred spots those first two years.

A Chicago Cubs baseball dynasty never came to fruition, and heading into the 2021 season it didn’t look like the Cubs would compete for another title as that window with our favorite stars was quickly closing. Still, I found myself at 22,000 in the Cubs season ticket line.

Much to my surprise, I received an email (and later that day a postcard)from the Cubs ticket department in September 2021 essentially saying that my turn could be coming up soon.

Hi Beau –

I saw you did not complete the survey we sent out regarding your interest in Cubs season tickets. Since it is highly likely that your spot will come up on the waitlist this Fall, I’d love to connect to talk through the process and answer any questions you may have.

What are your thoughts on connecting to discuss Cubs season tickets in more detail?

I read the email and was going to trash it with no response. For some reason the emotions of Cubs baseball and their poor showing over the past four years washed over me. So, I responded. This was my unedited response to the Cubs ticket department.

Hi Evan,
Thank you for reaching out. The Cubs organization has been the love of my life (Cubs are now second to my wife – my apologies) since I was a young child hearing Harry Caray and Steve Stone on the broadcasts and family members quizzing me on the names of players like Scott Sanderson (RIP), Steve Trout, and Leon Durham.

In December 2017, I began a pursuit to collect one million Chicago Cubs baseball cards. As of this letter my current count is near 670,000 Cubs cards. And I’m still married. 

When I signed up for the season ticket list it was a bucket list item to be a Chicago Cubs season ticket holder despite living in Wisconsin among cheeseheads and only getting to a small handful of Cubs games each season. Sadly, Cubs season tickets are no longer among a bucket list item for me. 

There was so much excitement around the team when I signed up in 2015 or 2016. It was the pre-World Series hype. We Cubs fans were on cloud nine with what Theo and Jed and built. Mr. Ricketts was fan friendly anticipating delivering us the long-awaited World Series trophy.

And then something changed. More and more, the Cubs organization seemed to chase the almighty dollar catering to corporate sponsors. More and more the everyday Cubs fan was being pushed aside. Season ticket benefits were being taken away. Prices for the average family continued to rise and they were squeezed out. 

While I am enjoying the current Cubs winning streak, it’s too little too late. I understand the business of baseball, and my decision to pass on season tickets is not directly tied to the loss of our favorite stars: Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, and Kris Bryant. But it still hurts.

I will continue to collect my Cubs baseball cards with my goal to reach one million. I will celebrate the milestone at Wrigley Field. I will continue to attend a few Cubs games each season. And I will continue to love the Chicago Cubs with all my heart. But I will not spend my hard earned money on Cubs season tickets.  Cubs fans deserve better than how we’ve been treated since 2016.

P.S. Please pass a message to Mr. Ricketts: We want Sammy Sosa welcomed back to the Cubs family.

All my best,
Beau Thompson
One Million Cubs Project
http://www.Onemillioncubs.com 

I didn’t expect much of a response. Evan did reply, and it was about what I would expect. Mostly form letter with a couple sentences acknowledging my letter.

Hi Beau,

I’m happy to hear how passionate you are about our Chicago Cubs. To collect 1 million Chicago Cubs baseball cards is no easy feat and I’m very interested to hear about your journey to collect the last 330,000 Cubs cards.

In regards to the organization and team, I understand your frustration with the organization since our 2016 World Series season. However from 2015-2020 the Cubs frequently had one of the highest payrolls in baseball. We offered some very competitive contract extensions to our top guys, and while they might still be back we will also be active in free agency this offseason. The Ricketts family also spent hundreds of millions to renovate Wrigley Field for our fans, which was in bad shape when they purchased the team.

Mr. Ricketts took over the organization and achieved the goal many thought was years down the road of winning a World Series and the ultimate goal here is to get back to the World Series and win another. After all these years of waiting to become a season ticket holder with the Cubs, I would hate for you to miss out on this opportunity.

Please note if season ticket seats are available during your assigned seat selection appointment time and you decline to purchase, you will be removed from the Cubs Season Ticket Holder Waiting List. The current list size is 90,000+. While the opportunity might not be right for you at this moment in time, do you know of any friends, family, coworkers, etc. who might be interested in purchasing season tickets through your account?

Please let me know if this option is of interests to you.

Did my passionate cry for help fall on deaf ears? Apparently, so. I will continue to attend Cubs games, but I don’t want your season tickets, Mr. Ricketts.