CubsCon2016 - Day 3

Day 3 at the Cubs Convention started without a headache and a breakfast of champions, stale two-day old donuts and a bottled frapuccino I brought from home. The ballroom events weren't of much interest to us, so the goal was head back down to autograph land and get as many autographs as we could before checkout time at noon.

We began our line waiting around 8:30 or so. There were definitely fewer fans this morning, but that still didn't guarantee you'd make it through two autograph lines in an hour. I started out getting Dan Vogelbach and couldn't help but mention how I'd love to see him hit a Vogel-bomb this year. He liked the sound of that!


My next line was for Stage B. There were stages A through F. Stage F was for kids signings only. Some people "won the lottery" and found an autograph voucher in their welcome packets for the Cubs core team players. Ya know, the likes of Cy Young Award Winner Jake Arrieta, Rookie of the Year Kris Bryant, and many more. Then there were the free-for-all stages that Tom and I lived in because our "lottery win" was a $5 off coupon when you spend $50 in the team store. Below is a photo of Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg who actually did double-duty on Stage A because Jorge Soler was unable to make it.He's going to make a good ambassador for the Chicago Cubs.

Tom did a good job cleaning up on autographs and got 5 within the time I got 2. Here he is below with Jeimer Candelario, which I managed to snag while I was waiting for Dan Vogelbach.

I opted to be one of the first in line for the 10am signing by Steve Trout and bounced hopped over to get Eric Jokisch's autograph.

While I was still holding my place in Steve Trout's line, Tom got his 3rd autograph of the hour and had noteworthy conversation with Dan Vogelmonster. Pretty sweet sig from a kid we've been rooting for ever since he was a Peoria Chief.

After I got Steve Trout's autograph, Tom asked that I stand in Randy Hundley's line and get a card signed for him. I thought it would be easy-peasy, but little did I know that I'd be standing in the slowest moving line of the weekend. Even with a free voucher, I was concerned if I'd really get an autograph... would Hundley keep signing past his allotted time? The answer, yes! 

It was about 5 after 11am when I got to meet Hundley and there was still a quarter of the line for him to get through. He made a comment to me about how he wasn't sure what he'd done to go over time. I kindly explained to him that it was because he was taking time to talk to all of us, which was really friendly and unexpected, plus he was helping make our day. I received a gigantic smile in return.

Above is the completed home plate, which thanks to Tom's help has 33 signatures (30 players, 1 organist, 1 agent, and 1 front office employee). 

It was a definitely an Epic Sibling Weekend! 

Closest we would get to Jake Arrieta, Joe Maddon, and Kyle Schwarber... and the only pic of the two of us together. Living in the moment is pretty fantastic!