How do I best describe the atmosphere inside Wrigley Field last night? Electrified. Ted Lilly, in his post game interview said he couldn’t believe the energy inside the park, saying the closest comparison he could make was during the 2001 World Series.

The evening started with a buzz because the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks were going to be at Wrigley for a pre-game ceremony with hockey’s Holy Grail. Security was tight as I watched 10 mounted police go by my bleacher seats on Waveland.

As time grew close to seeing the team and the Cup, anticipation levels rose – even brief rain shower couldn’t dampen the excitement building inside Wrigley Field. And then the Blackhawks appeared in right field to the cheers of more than 40,000 fans.

Acknowledging the crowd, the Hawks paraded the Cup around the ballpark, and where possible, shook hands with fans. The Cup was placed on the pitcher’s mound and John McDonough, once in marketing with the Cubs, threw out the first pitch. Both the Cubs and White Sox posed with the Hawks and the Cup for photos, and some even got to hold the Cup. This in itself was worth going out to Wrigley last night. Seeing a championship anything inside Wrigley was an extremely rare occurrence.

Cheers turned to boos as Ozzie Guillen was handed the Stanley Cup. Earlier in the day, Guillen said that the White Sox parade after they won the 2005 World Series was bigger than the estimated 2 million that showed up for the Blackhawks parade. Cubs fans commented that when the Cubs win the World Series, our parade would dwarf both.

The place was still buzzing about the Cup when fans realized there was another story breaking. Both White Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd and Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly were throwing no hitters, and it was into the fifth inning.

Fans started turning their attention to the baseball game, but not fully until after the Hawks sang the Seventh Inning Stretch. At the time, both Floyd and Lilly were still throwing no hitters. Then Alfonso Soriano came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh and hit a double with two outs. The Cubs scored their only run soon after, but that was enough.

Lilly, however, took his no hitter into the ninth, as rain began to fall. Fans that would normally have run for shelter, stayed in their seats, transfixed on the game. However, a no hitter was not to happen at Wrigley last night. Juan Pierre came to the plate to pinch hit for Floyd and hit a clean single to break Lilly’s no-no.

Carlos Marmol came in to shut down the side and the Cubs beat the White Sox 1-0 on a one hitter, avoiding the first White Sox sweep at Wrigley since 1999, in what most were saying was the best game they’ve seen at Wrigley this year and maybe in a very long time.

There were some in the crowd who, while happy the Cubs finally won, bemoaned the fact that Lilly was denied his no-no. One fan lamented he would never see a no hitter. Our group placed the blame on one friend who dared to utter the words “no hitter,” while columnist George Castle shouldered the blame, calling himself the no-no jinx.

I know I’m not the jinx. I refused to even try to jinx it for Floyd, thinking perhaps it would work against Lilly and just watched, transfixed. Some of us were lucky enough to see Carlos Zambrano pitch a no hitter in Milwaukee against the Astros after the game was moved from Houston because of Hurricane Ike. That was a pinnacle moment in my personal sports history, but seeing a no-no at Wrigley would top everything except seeng the Cubs win the World Series at home.

The Cubs do need to be careful when they travel to U.S. Cellular Field in a couple of weeks. In two days Cubs pitchers hit five Sox batters. While some expected some retaliation last night, it could come at the hands of the Sox in their own ballpark.

Re-printed with permission of the author.

In addition to contributing to Sports Climax, Miriam Romain maintains a Chicago Cubs column for Examiner.com. The Chicago native has also been published in several Cubs annuals by Maple Street Press and is writing a book with the working title “Summers at Wrigley with my Dad.”

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