Fight breaks out in bleachers during Crosstown Classic game at Wrigley Field
A fight broke out in the stands at Wrigley Field during a Crosstown Classic game on Monday evening.
Viral video documented the fight among fans wearing Cubs and White Sox jerseys in the Wrigley Field bleachers. A verbal quarrel escalates until people throw cups of what appears to be beer, and fists then begin flying.
A couple of men are seen falling down the bleachers during the fight.
Security soon arrives on the scene as someone implores them to take one of the men to jail. Security goes on to eject everyone involved.
Tony Farrer, his dad, and friends, visiting from Arizona, were sitting in the bleachers on Monday night when they saw two fights. The first was cut off quick, but the second they caught on camera.
"Never seen a fight, never been to Crosstown Classic, so this is definitely a two-for-one special I'd say," he said. "Tensions were a little, little high for sure in the outfield last night."
The second brawl was captured on video and shared on social media, showing Cubs fans arguing with White Sox supporters sitting a few bleachers below, before the action escalated.
"It really all just kind of happened within one to two minutes. They stood up, you know, beers got thrown, drinks got thrown, kicks," Farrer said.
Larry Carroll, visiting from Wyoming, also witnessed the fight.
"You know, come have a good time. Fighting isn't fun," he said.
Carroll and his friends chalked it up to fandom taken too far.
"Everybody is so nice here, and it was wonderful. I think it was a little bit of the South Side North Side rivalry, and that's just what it's going to be when it's the Sox and the Cubs," Alison Kyle said.
Farrer and his dad not only got the fight on video, they ended up on camera themselves.
"A lot of the videos from behind the plate, actually they're zooming in, and you can see us in the back. So a lot of people have been texting us seeing us in the back," Farrer said.
They are headed back to watch Game 2 in the series on Tuesday, hoping the action stays on the field this time around.
"To get a fight, get kicked out, I don't think that's really worth $200 maybe to be in jail for the night," Farrer said.
Three people were arrested at the game — one on charges of cocaine possession and battery and two more for criminal trespass to land — but Chicago police said none of these people were involved in the fight.
The game Monday night was the second in a three-game Crosstown Classic series at Wrigley Field. The Cubs won the game 7-5 in 10 innings, with Pete Crow-Armstrong hitting his first career walk-off homer.
Sources confirmed extra security was in place on Monday night for the Crosstown Classic, and that heightened security will continue throughout the series.
Fights during Crosstown Classic games have happened before. On one infamous occasion 20 years ago, it was not fans, but players who were involved.
On May 20, 2006, Cubs catcher Michael Barrett punched White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who had trucked him over in a home-plate collision while scoring a run in the second inning at what is now known as Rate Field.
It led to a brawl between the two teams in and remains arguably the most well-known moment in the history of the rivalry.
Barrett would receive a 10-game suspension and fine, while Pierzynski was only fined. Before a series at Wrigley Field later in the season, Barrett apologized to Pierzynski and the two shook hands.
