“This is what it feels like to be 100 percent” – declared beloved actor/comedian Bill Murray before singing Take Me Out To The Ballgame during the 7th inning stretch at the June 11th Chicago Cubs game – heralding in the return of full capacity crowds on the north side.

This was the first time since the fall of 2019 before the pandemic hit, that Wrigley Field could open to 100 percent capacity. It was perfect – the game, the crowd, Murray – it was all just perfect including the final score as the Cubs beat the Cardinals 8-5.

For any fan of the Cubs or any other team or sport for that matter, it was a wonderful day – and no one can convince me otherwise that the crowd didn’t have an impact on the outcome of this game. The joy was palpable even watching the game on TV – crazy happy fans, crazy happy Cubs players and coaches and crazy happy announcers and ultra Cubs fan Bill Murray….it was all just perfect.

The same has been happening for pro golf – as little by little more and more fans are being allowed to go to the tournaments. You can see and feel the intense joy of the fans and the players as great shots are rewarded with loud roars once again. It was just too weird watching golf tournaments without fans – it was like watching a high school or college match where only a few people were sprinkled around the entire golf course and most of them were workers at the tournament. A super shot by a pro was greeted with dead silence – weird and ultra sad.

And how about watching sports with human cutouts in the stands? Weirder and even sadder and kinda creepy too.

Crazed happy fans definitely had an impact on tonight’s Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns NBA Finals game too. The Bucks returned to their home court two games down in the finals so this was a crucial game for them because going down 3 games would put them in an almost insurmountable hole. Bring in a near capacity crowd inside and an even bigger crowd outside the stadium and what do you get? The Bucks win BIG by a 20 point margin once again proving what an impact the crowd can have on a game.

We the people matter to these sports – we may not be on the course, the court or the field, but we often have an impact on the outcome of the tournament or the game. I have heard so many professionals recently remark on how good it feels to have fans in the stands or at the course and how it literally propels them to perform better. They feed off the energy, the support, and the roar of the crowd – and we the people, in order to form a more perfect union with our favorite sports…couldn’t be happier.