Diehard Cubs fan Bill Murray welcomed fans back to Chicago’s Wrigley Field with a celebratory performance of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the 7th inning stretch. Friday’s game between the Cubs and rival St. Louis Cardinals marked the stadium’s first game back at full capacity since before the Covid-19 pandemic.
The one and only Bill Murray. #CubTogether pic.twitter.com/1hKbXWVG7n
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 11, 2021
“This is what it feels like to be 100 percent!” Murray shouted to the crowd. “We’re gonna be louder from right now until the last out in the top of the ninth inning. Understood? Let’s scare the hell out of these Cardinals!”
Murray then passionately led the stadium-sized singalong of the traditional “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” sustaining the last note a few extra seconds to relish the moment.
“Let’s get some runs!” Murray proclaimed after the song, with the Cubs tied 5-5 at time time. The team obliged, scoring three more runs over the next two innings en route to an 8-5 victory.
On Friday, Murray also spoke with reporters about his outside-the-box idea to keep the Cubs — who could lose stars Kris Bryant and Javier Baez to free agency this offseason — intact:
Bill Murray has a creative solution to keep the Cubs core together 😂🍋 pic.twitter.com/5JV6wjDyRo
— Cubs Talk (@NBCSCubs) June 11, 2021
“I’m going to suggest that the children of Chicago begin something like a March of Dimes and contribute individually lemonade money,” Murray told NBC Sports Chicago. “You can’t expect Tom Ricketts to pay for everything, and they’ve got to be prudent with the way they run their business.”
Murray added, “If the children of the city could begin giving up their allowance in the name of keeping this Cub team together after we win the championship this year, I think they’d feel really good about it the rest of their lives.”
Even during the pandemic, Murray kept his tradition of singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” alive by delivering the song virtually to a then-attendance-less Wrigley Field on Opening Day in July 2020. Murray’s over-the-top, socially distanced performance was still shown on the jumbotron despite no fans in the crowd.
In previous years, Murray has been a frequent guest at Wrigley to sing the traditional baseball anthem, including at the 2012 home opener and during the Cubs’ first World Series home game since 1945 in October 2016. Following the team’s World Series win, Murray joined some Cubs to celebrate on Saturday Night Live and jammed with fellow Cubs diehard Eddie Vedder at a post-World Series win house party.
Bill Murray scares the hell out of the Cardinals. #CubTogether pic.twitter.com/0uEEU3HSlq
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 11, 2021