Yahoo Sports 
Cubs fans clash in court over World Series Game 4 tickets
Chicago Cubs World Series tickets are in such high demand right now, people will go to extensive lengths to get their hands on just one. For one divorcing Chicago area couple, that even meant taking an emergency case to the courtroom in order to sort out who legally owned a pair of tickets to Game 4 on Saturday night.
According to the Associated Press, Cubs fan Nancy Riddle submitted an “Emergency Petition For World Series Tickets” to the Cook County Circuit Court on Friday with the hopes of wrestling two tickets away from estranged husband John Riddle, who is also a noted Cubs fan.
The petition was ultimately rejected. However, the judge did lay down a ruling that could have the husband scrambling and potentially paying a significant chunk of change should he not willingly give up his ticket.
Judge Marya Nega ruled after in-court arguments that the husband can keep the tickets for himself and the couple’s 12-year-old son but should pay for a new ticket for Nancy Riddle in a “comparable” section to his. The cheapest available tickets start at around $3,000.
Start at around $3,000 being the key phrase, and those prices may not even apply to where the Riddle’s tickets are located. We noted yesterday that tickets by the field were averaging near $8,000. And again, those were Friday’s prices. Those numbers will only go higher as game-time approaches, meaning the figure could push closer to five digits, if it wasn’t there already.
It’s a crazy case, made even crazier by some of the arguments that were presented.
The husband’s lawyer, Michael Berger, declined to name his client in a Thursday interview. But he did describe the legal tussle, saying his client landed the World Series tickets because he bought a season-ticket package deal with his friends this year before divorce proceedings began in April.
Berger said he objected to the notion that because the Cubs hadn’t made it to a World Series in 71 years, the request for the judge to intervene on the ticket issue was an emergency because the Cubs might not make it back to another World Series in the wife’s lifetime.
Berger is a fan of the Cubs’ bitter cross-town rivals, the White Sox, and said he reluctantly acknowledged to the court during arguments before the judge that the Cubs “are a great team.”
“Even if the Cubs lose this time, it is likely — regrettably — that they will be back to the World Series again soon,” he said in a Thursday phone interview.
Only in the name of the law would a White Sox fan publicly admit that the Cubs are great team positioned to put together a dynasty. If only we could see the anguish on his face while doing so.
In all seriousness, we do wish all involved well and are hopeful this is sorted out cordially and that their young son enjoys the experience of attending a World Series game.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – – –
Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
