Is there a Cubs Game Today?

Hello there.

Firstly, I would like to note that if you're actually a baseball fan looking to know whether there is a game today, out of an actual interest in said game, this site is not for you. Mostly because this site only pays attention to home games at Wrigley Field. I have created this website as a resource for the rest of us Chicagoans who don't really care enough about baseball to actually pay attention to the schedule. However, like any large, well-attended event, Cubs games cause traffic backups, service disruptions, and are generally kind of inconvenient.

You might find this site useful if:

• Your daily commute takes you through Lakeview, either by car or bus (maybe today you'll avoid LSD, or the 22 Clark bus).
• You are considering patronizing the fine cultural (Smartbar!) or culinary (Cozy!) institutions in Wrigleyville (be prepared for a wait, or an arduous walk through the neighborhood).
• You’d rather try to leave work early or late to avoid listening to someone be verbally, profanely abused in front of his schoolage children for the crime of wearing a Cardinals hat.
• You hate baseball. Or litter. Or drunks stumbling in the bike lane. Or fights in the street. Or slow-moving groups of people. Did we mention the litter?
• You are sick of walking, biking, driving or commuting through a crowded Wrigleyville without warning.

This site lists the times that games start, because I’ve found that there is a difference in the interruptions caused by day and night games. Crowds and crowd control measures become noticeably disruptive about two hours before a game.

• Early games will regrettably keep the neighborhood congested throughout rest of the day.
• Afternoon games will do the same, but thankfully, you can scoot by Wrigley earlier in the morning and beat the crush..

In both instances, everyone will have mostly dispersed by late evening. Unless, of course:

• Evening games won’t really affect that day too badly, but will turn late night Wrigleyville into a ridiculous mess.

The schedule the site uses is current as of 3/25/2013 and the site itself went live 8/11/09. It might be a little buggy (esp. the RSS feed) but essentially, it works. This site is very occasionally maintained by a native Chicagoan, who is a web developer / caffeine aficianado by day, and a frequent cyclist / electronic music enthusiast by night, and is actually very baseball-neutral. I also live within half a mile of Wrigley Field, and love the neighorhood. There are many places to go and things to do and people to see in the general Lakeview area and I would suggest doing so. Just not on game days.

Today's game day status will also be Tweeted, so follow @IsThereCubsGame, and/or like us on Facebook IsThereACubsGameToday.com for a daily status update. From there you set up notifications however you want, including mobile updates, which a couple people have asked for.

I initially wanted comments or feedback of some kind, then I realized who I’d be inviting responses from. And yes, a friend does run CubParking.com. He's good people, give him your business.