Bluey & Bingo pose with their fans, Photo Courtesy of the Kane County Cougars
Attending a minor league baseball game on a Sunday afternoon during the dog days of summer can be somewhat drab. The crowd, depending on the weather, could be sparse, and the atmosphere somewhat vapid. However, that was not the case when I attended a Kane County Cougars game in Geneva, Illinois, this past weekend. The place was packed, and it was all due to a cartoon dog named Bluey.
Bluey is an animated preschool television series from Australia that airs on Disney Junior and Disney+ in the United States. He is a Blue Heeler puppy with an abundance of energy, imagination, and curiosity about the world. She lives with her father, Bandit; mom, Chilli; and younger sister, Bingo. The cartoon is a worldwide phenomenon that has resulted in merchandise from t-shirts, hats, knapsacks, toys, hoodies, and stuffed animals.
I only know of the cartoon because my little niece and nephew made me watch it one day when I was babysitting them. I do not have kids of my own, but watching Bluey and her adventures over and over for more than a few hours can be somewhat nerve-wracking for someone my age. However, it was slightly better than the Bubble Guppies from when my oldest nephew was 5-years-old.
I was unaware of their appearance, but as I approached the stadium, I knew it was not going to be your typical game. I pulled into one of the three parking lots at Northwestern Medicine Field. Staff members were abundant guided cars to parking spaces, and families with children descended upon the ballpark.
I enjoyed the large crowd at the game, but I felt like a sardine packed with thousands of fans on the narrow grandstand. Folks waited in line for food and drink, kids walked with parents to their seats, and many more enjoyed the game from the two lawn seating areas down each foul line. However, there were more kids behind the outfield wall in the kid zone and petting zoo area.
The KidZone is behind the right-field deck area and offers eight different areas of play, including a slide, bounce house, t-ball, and obstacle course. There is also a snack shack with food, plus picnic tables for the adults to monitor the kids. The area includes a petting zoo and pony rides, adding to the excitement for the little ones. It is one of the better kids' areas I have seen at a minor league or independent ballpark.
Pony rides at the Cougars game, Photo by Marc Viquez, Stadium Journey
However, once the stadium PA announced the arrival of Blue and her sister Bingo, the kids gravitated toward them. The two cartoon dogs waved to their adorning audience from atop the upper deck suites between the 3rd inning. Soon, a crowd lined up down the third base line and up the stairs.
I have seen other cartoon characters and Baseball Hall of Famers at games. I remember a line that lasted almost 9-innings to see Andre Dawson in Lakewood, New Jersey, and tables set up before games to see Goose Gossage in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Rickey Henderson in Nashville, Tennessee. However, none of these lines were as long as Bluey and Bingo.
The sun was out, and the temperature was cooking, but that did not stop parents and their children from waiting to see the two cartoon stars from Australia. A few reports had the wait time at 90 minutes, while other parents complained about being in the hot sun and not being able to watch the game. Parents were complaining about the characters needing breaks during the appearance and the location of where they were at the ballpark.
Unfortunately, I did not get an up-close picture of either of them. I was restricted to the main concourse and unable to get upstairs unless I wanted to cut the line and get a few mean stairs from 6-year-old boys and girls. I asked a few of them in line what Bluey’s last name was, and they told me it was Heeler (this was a trivia question I got wrong a few weeks ago at my local bar). They were super fans.
Fans wait in line for Bluey, Photo by Marc Viquez, Stadium Journey
I left the game a few innings early to beat the rush of cars exiting from the parking lot. As I made the long trek back to my car, I heard a little kid behind me crying out loud. He kept repeating that he did not want to go home and that he wanted to stay. I first thought that he was having such a great time that he didn't want it to end. However, I soon discovered that his parents did not take him to see Bluey because they did not want to wait in line.
All I could hear was this little boy, no more than 6 years old, crying about wanting to see his favorite cartoon character. At his age, I was afraid of such characters (Mickey Mouse scared me until I was 10). I would be remorseful if I didn’t feel empathy for the little guy. He had probably been looking forward to this day for quite some time. For him, to be this close and not see him would be rather traumatic. I hope he doesn't hold this against his parents for the rest of his life.
However, he will grow out of liking Bluey and move on to other things, perhaps Little League baseball, but for all the little tikes that were at the game, thank you for adding a wonderful atmosphere to the afternoon. The old stadium has a lot to offer to fans of any age. It is what makes treating a baseball game a special event.
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Follow all of Marc’s stadium journeys on Twitter @ballparkhunter and his YouTube channel. Email at Marc.Viquez@stadiumjourney.com
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