‘Everybody wants to be a part of it’: Cubs, Reds fans share heavenly day on Iowa cornfield

DYERSVILLE — Chicago Cubs followers have been having a catch with Cincinnati Reds followers within the outfield of the world’s most inconceivable baseball subject Thursday afternoon.

Giddily. Reverently.

Perhaps this actually is heaven.

This scene was taking part in out hours earlier than these Main League Baseball groups have been scheduled to sq. off on the Area of Desires film website. It was the two,357th assembly in a rivalry that stretches again 130 years.

However the first in Iowa.

Or on a diamond carved out of a cornfield.

Or with bliss changing animosity among the many followers wearing crimson and those in blue.

“It doesn’t matter who wins,” mentioned Tim Land, carrying a pale crimson shirt and standing subsequent to his son, Evan, who was sporting his vibrant Cubbie blue.

“Simply getting right here and spending time collectively, it was price it.”

The Lands drove to Dyersville from their southern Indiana properties, spending Wednesday evening at a Wisconsin resort that was the closest they may discover to the baseball recreation that Tim bought two tickets for simply final month.

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Tim Land is a lifelong fan of baseball’s oldest skilled staff, which might hint its roots to 1869 and an period when the game was nonetheless written out as “base ball.” By some means, his son regarded to the west as a substitute of the east when forming his baseball allegiance. Tim winced when he talked about this.

Evan was watching the house run derby forward of July’s MLB All-Star recreation and noticed a business promoting the second Area of Desires recreation, with two very acquainted groups. It felt like a calling. He hopped on the Web and noticed that solely eight tickets remained, gratefully scooping up two of these after which calling his dad with an surprising message.

“He mentioned, ‘Hey, don’t make plans for Aug. 11,’” Tim Land recalled. “I mentioned, ‘What’s Aug. 11?’ He mentioned, ‘We’re going to Iowa.’”

Neither Land had ever been to Iowa, and appeared stunned by how shut it was. Neither appeared in any hurry to depart, both. They requested a reporter the place they may get their mitts on a few gloves. The following order of enterprise was a recreation of catch.

About 60 ft, 6 inches south of the Lands, Brittani Ridener was tossing a particular Area of Desires baseball backwards and forwards along with her boyfriend, Kevin Tex. This was an old-school recreation of catch, with both naked fingers or the only real of a shoe getting used to cease the ball.

Ridener had on a white Cubs jersey, whereas Tex sported a Reds jersey together with his identify on the again. He received it whereas attending one of many staff’s fantasy camps in Arizona, a spring coaching trek that exposed his devotion to his staff.

Tex owns Schneider’s Pub in Indianapolis. Ridener works there. They knew when this recreation was introduced final yr that they needed to attend, however getting the day without work was not straightforward.

The matchup, and the prospect to go to the location of a favourite film, have been too alluring to go up.

“We watch it always,” Ridener mentioned of the 1989 Kevin Costner basic “Area of Desires.”

“However we had by no means been right here. There’s a lot emotion, a lot pleasure. Your entire physique is tremendous stoked about what you’re about to stroll into. This was a film, and now it’s actual life. And all people needs to be part of it, and I believe that’s the best factor.”

Ridener and Tex weren’t involved about who emerged victorious on the finish of their jaunt to northeast Iowa.

“Cubs and Reds followers struggle sufficient,” Ridener mentioned. “Him and I don’t have to do it. We don’t take it to coronary heart over a win or a loss. Particularly not tonight.”

There was no sequel to the “Area of Desires” film, primarily based on the 1982 novel “Shoeless Joe” by then-College of Iowa Author’s Workshop graduate W.P. Kinsella.

Why would there be? It ends with father and son reuniting in a well-recognized American ritual. Two gloves and a baseball.

However Thursday’s recreation was a sequel to final yr’s White Sox-Yankees debut at this stadium.

That was excellent news for Jay Schulfer of Madison, Wisconsin. He watched the White Sox win that nationally televised recreation at residence together with his son, Bentli, a baseball fanatic at age 10.

Per week later, the Schulfers determined to make the two ½-hour drive to Dyersville to see the film website for themselves. A safety employee advised Jay he ought to apply to work on the subsequent MLB recreation right here.

And that’s how Schulfer discovered himself standing on a gravel street that meanders from the baseball stadium to the film website Thursday, sweating within the scorching solar as he directed pedestrians and saved his son up to date on every little thing he was seeing.

“My son’s not too proud of me, as a result of I couldn’t carry him,” Schulfer mentioned. “He’s texting me, calling me, asking me what I’m doing. I’m sending him photos, simply to let him know. He’s dwelling this factor by way of me. However we’ll preserve coming again.”

The spirit of the day was not misplaced on the gamers, both. The Cubs have been the primary to reach, they usually rapidly received into uniform and located their solution to the outfield the place the film was filmed.

Pitcher Anderson Espinoza surveyed the scene: Gamers and followers mingling, speaking, posing, a quietness about all of it that urged a household picnic greater than the lead-in to a baseball rivalry.

“I like every little thing old-school. And that is the proper place to characterize baseball,” mentioned Espinoza, 24, gesturing to the century-old type of uniform being gamers donned just for this matchup.

“This uniform is so good. I hope they let me preserve it. I want to indicate my mother this.”

Espinoza had one different postgame plan: The native of Venezuela mentioned he was going to ensure to lastly watch the film that was the rationale he discovered himself right here, on this uniform, on this subject, dwelling this dream.