Friendly at the Confines

As families from Daley, Walsh, Greene, Nobel and Pasteur walked up the stairs they laid their eyes on a familiar sight but at an unordinary location. This past Saturday, the Chicago Cubs hosted UI kids and their families for The Friendly at the Confines. Italian powerhouse AS Roma matched up against Polish premier team Zaglebie Lubin for the first soccer match at Wrigely Field since 1984.

 The historic wall of ivy and iconic hand operated scoreboard was the backdrop for an afternoon of goals from the European teams and celebrations from the UI kids and their families. Many of the kids in attendance actually played on the Wrigley Field outfield this past October and remembered that amazing experience just like it was yesterday. “Hey Coach Cris, remember when the Cubs let us play soccer on their field? I felt so famous that day!” said 4^th grader Diego from Nobel. All of the UI families had so much fun at the soccer match; it was an event unlike any other.

A majority of the families are avid soccer fans and were very excited to see well-known players from around the world, like Francesco Totti and Michael Bradley, take the field where normally Chicago Cubs players are running bases. The match ended 4-0 with AS Roma taking the victory at one of the most unique settings for a soccer match. 

The Urban Initiatives staff and families would like to thank the Chicago Cubs for another one of a kind experience at Wrigley Field.